Yang Xiaoqiang, 20, who won a silver medal in the 2011 World Paragliding Championships in the Czech Republic, plunged to the ground from a height of 120 metres, witnesses said.
Yang, who was from Hubei Province and a coach at the training base, was attempting to complete a mid-air loop when his canopy collapsed, they said.
He had completed his first attempt at the maneuver on Monday but the lines of his paraglider became tangled on his second attempt and he fell into his canopy. Yang tried to open his reserve parachute but it wouldn't deploy.
The Aero Sports Federation of China said Yang was a member of a local paragliding club in Fuyang and he was practicing an unsanctioned maneuver when he died.
The federation added that it has sent a team of experts to investigate the tragedy.
Yang had made it to the national team last June and won silver medal at the world even in the Czech Republic with the highest score ever achieved by a Chinese competitor, official media reported here.
Yang's family, however, may not get any compensation for him being a national team's member as country's General Administration of Sport has said this year's team was yet to be selected and the paraglider was not training on its behalf.
The official also said the administration does not provide insurance and it was the responsibility of local clubs.
The national paragliding team is selected on a temporary basis at the time of any event.
