SEPANG: He had won the All-England men’s single title after a four-year wait, and was only the third Malaysian to have won the title since 1980, but when he arrived home this evening, Lee Zii Jia did not get the hero’s welcome he deserved.
Although the 22-year-old had just won the world’s oldest badminton tournament for the first time, strict SOPs enforced at KLIA meant well-wishers were limited to a small group from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and a few airport staff.
A few shouts of “Malaysia Boleh!” rang out as Zii Jia and the rest of the Malaysian national badminton team spent a few minutes posing for photos, but they were soon whisked away on a bus to a hotel to start their seven-day quarantine. They were not allowed to speak to the media.
With the women’s doubles pair of Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah winning the 2021 Swiss Open earlier this month, BAM president Mohamad Norza Zakaria said the victories would be valuable morale boosters for Malaysians amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“These wins augur well for the young generation and we want to celebrate this,” he told FMT.
“Zii Jia, and to a certain extent Pearly and Thinaah, have brought a feel good factor back to the country.
“Now after a very long time, Malaysians have come together during the pandemic.
“Zii Jia had an epic battle with (world No 2 and defending champion) Victor (Axelsen) in the final. Prior to that he beat (world No 1) Kento Momota. We have definitely got to think of something to make sure his contribution is recognised and appreciated.”
World No 10 Zii Jia won his first major title on Sunday after beating Denmark’s Axelsen 30-29, 20-22, 21-9 at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
Zii Jia shocked Japan’s Momota to reach the semi-final, where he moved past Dutchman Mark Caljouw 21-13, 21-17 to set up a date with Axelsen.
