Lee Zii Jia won a bronze medal in men’s singles badminton at the Paris Olympics, making a significant contribution to Malaysia’s rise in the medal table. He accomplished this through a hard-fought match against India’s Lakshya Sen. After losing the first set 13-21, Zii Jia came back strongly to win the next two sets 21-16 and 21-11. This decisive victory took place at the Adidas Arena in Port de La Chapelle on Monday, August 5.
This was Zii Jia’s first Olympic medal. In his debut at Tokyo 2020 three years prior, he had only advanced to the Round of 16 after being defeated by China’s Chen Long. The 26-year-old is also the third men’s singles player to win a badminton medal for Malaysia. Previously, Rashid Sidek won bronze at Atlanta 1996, while Datuk Lee Chong Wei earned silver at Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016.
His bronze medal was secured a day after Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik triumphed over Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen with scores of 16-21, 22-20, 21-19. With this result, Malaysia now has two bronze medals after 11 days of competition.
Lee Zii Jia's Post-match Interview
“It has been hard this journey. My ranking dropped and I even struggled to qualify for the Olympics. I just wanted to prove to myself that I can do it. I’m very proud of myself even though it’s only a bronze,” said Zii Jia, who became an independent player in 2022.
Zii Jia admitted that he felt like giving up after his loss to Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the semi-finals on Sunday.
“To be honest, after I lost the match yesterday (against Kunlavut), I just went blank at the moment. I was not sure if I wanted this medal because my goal is only the gold medal. How much I wanted to prove myself because the medal that Malaysia have been missing is only gold. We have bronze and a lot of silvers.
“But after I lost, it felt like I have been slapped by Kunlavut from a very good dream. I could not eat well, sleep well after that. This morning I did not eat much as well. I was worried about my condition and true enough, I was out of control in the first game.
“Lakshya was in very good form as well and in a good position in the second game but somehow I overcame it and won the game. It’s an unbelievable journey for me,” said Zii Jia.
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