Do-or-die for Zii Jia in Olympic gold medal hunt
Published on: Saturday, August 03, 2024
By:
FMT, K Parkaran
A win by Lee Zii Jia against Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn will ensure that Malaysia secure at least a silver in the badminton event at the Paris Olympics.
PETALING JAYA: National shuttler Lee Zii Jia may have won several prestigious international titles but his semi-final match at the 2024 Paris Olympics tomorrow is expected to be the most important one in his career.
At 25 and playing some good badminton since the beginning of the year, many say this could be the best time for the world No 7 to make it to an Olympic final. They also agree that it is going to be tougher at the next Olympics when he will be 29.
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After Lee Chong Wei’s three consecutive silver medals at the 2008 Beijing, 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, Malaysian fans have been waiting for a silver lining in the dark badminton clouds.
It finally appeared early this morning when Zii Jia qualified for the semi-final, defeating Denmark’s world No 3 Anders Antonsen 21-17, 21-15. Malaysian fans are now hoping for him to emulate at least one of Chong Wei’s Olympics feats.
The scoreline may indicate that Zii Jia had a stroll but it was not the case. He had to work hard against Antonsen and his concentration put him on top, catching his opponent with pin-point shots on numerous occasions.
"This is the Olympics and everyone wants to win. It depends on who can stay calm and handle all sorts of situations, especially the p'ressure," Zii Jia told BWF after the match.
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Kunlavut sounds warning
In the semi-finals, Zii Jia takes on world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who has always proven to be a tough opponent, having won four times each in their meetings so far.
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In their last clash at the Indonesian Open in June, the Thai, who is a rung below Zii Jia in the world rankings, won 21-16, 21-17 in the quarter-finals.
Based on their performance in Paris, both appear to be in great form, but Kunlavut’s power game, when he stunned China’s world No 1 Shi Yuqi 21-12, 21-10 in the quarter-finals, is a warning for Zii Jia.
"The scoreline looks like Kunlavut completely whitewashed the Chinese player. It’s more frightening to think that he did that to the reigning world No 1, who is feared by all top players," said former national player and coach James Selvaraj.
Selvaraj said he had been studying Kunlavut’s game closely and noted that he was a player who "thinks on the court", playing different styles to rattle his opponent.
"He is shrewd and strategic, and is always well prepared to face his opponent. His victory at the world championship showed what he is capable of. Zii Jia has to dig into his reserves to overcome the Thai player," he told FMT.
On the other hand, he said, Zii Jia had it easy at the group stage with unknown players from Sri Lanka and Spain, before beating Frenchman Toma Junior Popov 21-13, 24-22 in the last 16.
“He took the opportunity to test the court conditions, wind direction and other factors to adjust to the environment. By the time he played the quarter-finals, he just knew how, where and at what speed to hit the shuttlecock.
"He won all his matches in straight games. This speaks volumes of his current form, especially beating the Frenchman in his home ground, and Antonsen after that. But he must always remember that he will be up against a cunning and shrewd player tomorrow," he said.
Selvaraj, who was BAM coaching director when Chong Wei played China’s Lin Dan in the 2012 Olympic final, said playing at that level is a completely different feeling compared to other tournaments.
"I was there and I know exactly what the players go through. The pressure is really high with the whole nation waiting in anticipation. The rewards are plenty and the feeling when one wins a medal is out of this world," he said.
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