The family of a martial arts student is left hurting after their son was injured during a tournament and the school left them to take the hit on the medical bills.

Chen Yang, a full-time student at a martial arts school in Dengfeng, Henan Province, suffered a shoulder fracture from a flying kick during the school competition on July 8.

"I was in the hospital when they told me it was fractured," the teen told the Nandu Daily.

His injury would require surgery costing 13,000 yuan ($1,941), a sum that Chen said his impoverished family in Guizhou Province could not afford.

Chen said he first turned to his school, to which his family pays 4,800 yuan a year for tuition and an insurance policy.

According to the family, the school's recruitment director told them the policy would cover Chen's injuries.

When a Nandu Daily reporter asked the recruitment director if the school would help Chen and his family, he refused to comment.

The school instead dragged its feet. And when the hospital threatened to delay the surgery on July 12, Chen's family made a payment of 2,000 yuan. They were forced to borrow the rest.

Chen is now recovering, and his family have still not seen money from the school or the insurance policy.

Nandu Daily