Ipoh police chief Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad said the post-mortem conducted by the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital found that the injury led to massive blood loss from the right hip muscle, Bernama reported.

He said the 16-year-old player from Johor collapsed suddenly at about 10.30am while he was about to enter the field for the second half of the match.

A check with the accompanying teacher found that the student did not show any sign of illness or fatigue during the first half of the game.

“The medical officer on duty immediately administered first aid after finding the victim suffering from muscle cramps and suspected seizures.

“CPR was also performed after his pulse was found to be weak,” Abang Zainal said in a statement today.

The student was taken to hospital for further treatment but was pronounced dead at 11.18am.

Following his death, the education ministry decided to cancel the tournament, which will now be be held from Jan 28 to 31 next year.

Education minister Fadhlina Sidek, in expressing her sympathies to the family, said all emergency preparedness measures and safety protocols had been taken during the tournament, describing the incident as “unforeseen”.

“That is why the decision to cancel the matches is important. We want to stand in solidarity and offer our support to the student’s family,” she said after attending a yasin recital and tahlil prayers for the victim, Fauzan Sulaiman at Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman today.