Zii Jia says bronze medal proof of my hard work, determination
Published on: Tuesday, August 06, 2024
By: FMT
National badminton star Lee Zii Jia posing with his Paris Olympics bronze medal after beating India’s world No 22 Lakshya Sen in the third-place play-off yesterday. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia says his bronze medal at the Paris Olympics is proof that his hard work and determination after becoming an independent player in 2022 has paid off.
The 26-year-old battled back from a game down to beat India’s world No 22 Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in the third-place play-off yesterday, making him the third Malaysian shuttler to win an Olympic medal in the men’s singles event.
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World No 7 Zii Jia, who said he was unsure whether he could qualify for the Olympics after the drop in his world ranking, said he had committed himself to proving his detractors wrong after facing criticism when leaving the national set-up.
I did not want to give up easily (after losing the first game). I went through a lot of challenges since becoming an independent player (in 2022) and wanted to prove myself,
the Kedahan said after the match.
“A lot has happened in the past three years. There were times when I wanted to give up, but I didn’t cry, not even once. Every morning when I woke up, I read so much news about myself. I kept wondering what I did wrong. Whatever the media wrote about me, I kept my silence…
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I’m very proud of myself. This is not the medal that I wanted to win. I aimed to win the gold. This might just be bronze but it’s a good start for me. I will come back stronger for the 2028 Los Angeles Games and get gold.
Zii Jia is the third Malaysian to have won an Olympic medal in the men’s singles event after Rashid Sidek (bronze, 1996) and Lee Chong Wei (silver, 2008, 2012 and 2016).
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He claimed his first major title in 2021 at the All England championship, making him only the third Malaysian men’s singles shuttler to win the world’s oldest badminton tournament this century.
However, Zii Jia resigned from the country’s national team the next year, opting to continue his career as an independent player after saying that he was unable to cope with the pressure he faced as the nation’s top shuttler.
Last month, Scoop reported that Zii Jia was unable to secure additional accreditation cards for his physiotherapist and personal sparring partner to accompany him to Paris.
Zii Jia’s manager, his sister Lee Zii Yii, said that despite not obtaining the additional accreditation cards, the members of Zii Jia’s team would still pay out of their own pocket to accompany the nation’s top-ranked player to Paris.
Scoop reported that apart from the siblings, Zii Jia’s team in Paris includes coach Wong Tat Meng, physiotherapist Rayvadee Rattanakthada, strength and conditioning coach Lim Joe Heang and sparring partner Lee Shun Yang.
For now, the entire team will travel to Paris. We will all be there to support, but only coach (Wong) Tat Meng will stay in the athletes’ village with Zii Jia,
Zii Yii said in the July 21 report.
We are bearing all expenses for the entire team ourselves.
Zii Jia’s victory yesterday came after Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik won a bronze medal – Malaysia’s first at the Paris Games – by defeating Denmark’s Anders Skaarup Rasmussen-Kim Astrup in a gripping three-game match at the men’s doubles competition.
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