13 days after his death, the body of badminton player Zhang Zhijie remains in Sarjito Hospital

Sunday, July 14, 2024 – 05:00 WIB

Yogyakarta – Young Chinese badminton player Zhang Zhije died while competing at the Asian Junior Badminton Championships in GOR Amongraga on Sunday, June 30, 2024. Zhang Zhijie collapsed on the court during a fight with Japanese athlete Kazuma Kawano.

Zhang Zhijie’s body is at Dr. Sarjito Hospital until Saturday, July 13, 2024, or two weeks after his death. It is not yet known when his family will bring his body back to China.

RSUP’s head of public relations and legal affairs, Dr Sarjito Banu Hermawan, said his party has yet to receive confirmation from the family or the Chinese Badminton Federation on when Zhang Zhije’s body will be recovered.

Banú revealed that the body of this 17-year-old athlete is currently being kept in a cold room belonging to the Dr. Sarjito Hospital.

“We are still waiting for the Zhang family’s decision or information from PBSI on the return of the body,” Banu said when contacted.

Banu said the Zhang family and the Chinese Badminton Association attended the PBSI hearing with Dr. Sarjito Hospital on Friday, July 5, 2024. Only then, the family did not plan when Zhang Jije’s body would be brought to China.

“There was no plan or confirmation from the family then. There was none until today. We were just passive,” Banu said.

Banu confirmed that Zhang Zhije’s body is in good condition in the cold storage room of Dr. Sarjito Hospital. Keeping it in this cold room would ensure that Zhang Zhijie’s body would not suffer from decomposition or rot.

“God willing, it will be stored for a long time. Our refrigerator also has a long (storage) period. There is no (special) treatment, just storage,” Banu concluded.