{"id":41944,"date":"2026-08-09T11:46:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T09:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=41944"},"modified":"2026-08-09T11:46:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T09:46:22","slug":"rugby-player-dies-after-suffering-suspected-heatstroke-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/rugby-player-dies-after-suffering-suspected-heatstroke-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby player dies after suffering suspected heatstroke in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Professional Fijian rugby player Saimoni Vunilagi has passed away at the age of 26 after suffering suspected heatstroke during training with his team in southern Japan, the side said in a statement on Saturday.<\/div>\n<div id=\"x_x_ms-outlook-mobile-signature\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The back rower was sent to hospital on Monday with symptoms consistent with severe heatstroke after training with his Fukuoka-based side Kyushu Electric Power Kyuden Voltex known as Kyushu KV.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He passed away on Friday morning, the club said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Japan has experienced an intense heatwave in recent weeks with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some cities in what the government has newly designated as a \u201cbrutally hot day.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cAlthough Saimoni had only recently joined Kyushu KV, his generous spirit and powerful style of play had raised high hopes for his contributions in the upcoming season,\u201d said the club, which play in Japan\u2019s second division.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cWe humbly pray for the repose of his soul and extend our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family,\u201d the club added.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Japan\u2019s national side narrowly lost to Australia on Saturday in a muggy evening match in Osaka, the teams stopped for mandatory water breaks midway through both halves due to the extreme conditions.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u2014Reuters\u2014<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":23623,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-41944","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"He passed away on Friday morning, the club said.","published_date":"","news_description":"He passed away on Friday morning, the club said.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41945,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41944\/revisions\/41945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=41944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}