CAIRO
The Vice President of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) asserted on Sunday that Turkish taekwondo player Seyithan Akbalik had died of natural cause.
"The prosecution has concluded, based on the postmortem report, that the player had died of circulatory collapse," Ahmed Fouly told a press conference.
Akbalik, 21, had collapsed earlier Sunday during a match against a Slovenian player in the men's 63-kilogram category of the International Taekwondo Tournament in Luxor.
Fouly, who is also the head of the Egyptian Taekwondo Federation, said the Turkish medical team along with doctors from Egypt and the UK had tried to rescue the player, but to no avail.
He noted that the player was taken to Luxor International Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The WTF official went on to say that the Turkish government has decided to send a special plane to carry the body of the player who would be accompanied by Taekwondo Federation of Turkey president Metin Sahin.
Meanwhile, the tournament director Farag al-Omari told Anadolu Agency that today's medal ceremony was cancelled to mourn the Turkish player.
He added that all players will, from Monday, observe a moment of silence before every match to mourn the Turkish player.
The International Taekwondo Tournament in Luxor opened Saturday with the participation of over 300 players from 37 countries.
Turkey is represented by a 46-member delegation.
By Abdel-Nasser Sayed
englishnews@aa.com.tr
