Kulim deputy police chief Tengku Faisal Yeng said Adam Putra Syahril, 21, collapsed and lost consciousness during the training session, at about 5.30pm.

He said the student of a higher learning institution in Perlis was given first aid by his coach before being rushed by ambulance to Kulim Hospital, where he was pronounced dead by a medical officer at the hospital’s emergency unit.

“The body was later sent to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar and the case has been classified as sudden death,” he said in a statement today.

It is understood that the rugby player, who was from Kulim, was undergoing practical training in the district and had no known history of illness.