Jiang Tao (footballer, born 1985)

Jiang Tao
Personal information
Date of birth 2 September 1985
Place of birth Jilin, China
Date of death 10 March 2004 (aged 18)
Place of death Jurong Stadium, Jurong, Singapore
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Jilin Institute of Physical Education
2001–2004 Sinchi FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004 Sinchi FC
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jiang Tao (Mandarin: 江涛 2 September 1985 – 10 March 2004) was a Chinese footballer who played for Sinchi FC in the S.League.

Background

Raised in Antu County,[2] Jilin, Jiang Tao played basketball at an early age but always had a predilection to football, later entering the Jilin Institute of Physical Education and becoming one of coach Zhang Yuanqing's favorite players.[2] Competing in the Under-17 National Football Championship with his school, he steered them to a 9th-place finish out of 32 teams.[2] Jiang's father was a government official and his mother ran a grocery.[1][2] On November 16, 2001, the Jilin Institute of Physical education was visited by a deputation from Sinchi FC to recruit players.[2] Enticed by the idea of playing abroad and studying at the same time, Jiang agreed to go[1] and his family providentially had the wherewithal to pay for the stint, which costed over 100,000 yuan.[2]

Sinchi FC

Originally in the third team, the defender was promoted to the clubs Prime League and S.League teams by 2004, starting to feature in official matches.[1] On 10 March 2004, while in an evening training session Jiang was struck by lightning and collapsed.[3][4] The 18-year old was pronounced dead by medical personnel 10 minutes after the incident.[5][4] As a tribute, all the S.League fixtures that week were started with one minute's silence beforehand[6] and his family were given a solatium of 600000 yuan by the Football Association of Singapore.[1] The Singapore government also launched a fundraiser to support Jiang's parents and all the money generated from Sinchi FC's game tickets that week were given to them.[7]

The former player's body was cremated on 15 March 2004.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "新华社吉林频道-新闻频道". 8 September 2004. Archived from the original on 8 September 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "姜涛走向"天堂" 把悲伤留给活着的亲人-搜狐体育". Sports.sohu.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  3. ^ "USATODAY.com - Chinese soccer player killed by lightning". Usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Lightning kills 18-y-o Chinese player". Espnfc.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Chinese player dies after lightning strike at training". Standard.co.uk. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  6. ^ "S.League.com - Amri Takes on Big Brother Role at Young Lions". Archived from the original on 2017-09-16. Retrieved 2017-09-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "新加坡各界为中国少年募捐 俱乐部为江涛超度-搜狐体育". Sports.sohu.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  8. ^ "新麒将为江涛举行追悼会 另为其补发04全年工资-搜狐体育". Sports.sohu.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.