PARIS, Aug 6 — Men’s singles pro shuttler Lee Zii Jia has vowed to continue his quest for Olympic gold at Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) after his Paris 2024 bronze finish last night.
Zii Jia, who arrived in Paris dreaming of gold after a good run in the recent World Tour tournaments, described his semi final loss to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn at Porte de La Chapelle Arena as “being woken from a good sleep with a tight slap”.
“I just went blank at that moment (defeat to Kunlavut) and wasn’t sure if I really wanted this bronze. We (Malaysia) already have a lot of bronze and silver medals from the Olympics… What we do not have yet is the gold medal.
“But, for me, this is a good start to my (Olympic) journey. I will definitely be back for LA28 and I will try to get the gold for myself and Malaysia,” he said after defeating India’s Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in the bronze decider yesterday.
Zii Jia, who lost to China’s Chen Long in the last 16 on his Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020, is the third Malaysian men’s singles shuttler to have won an Olympic medal, after Datuk Rashid Sidek’s bronze in Atlanta 1996 and Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s three straight silvers in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016.
The bronze is world No. 7 Zii Jia’s first Olympic medal after losing to China’s Chen Long in the last 16, when he made his debut at Tokyo 2020.
The 2021 All-England champion said since leaving the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to become an independent player in early 2022, he has become a more mature shuttler.
Meanwhile, Lakshya lamented the injury he suffered during the game, with his right hand bleeding due to a bruise, which he said affected his game as he had to have it bandaged.
“I couldn’t really give my best… Once he started getting a good momentum, the pressure started building. It was hard to control the rallies.
“No, I don’t think (the injury turned the match around). He (Zii Jia) played a really good game. Once he got the rhythm, it was difficult for me,” he said.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen retained his men’s singles gold with a dominant 21-11, 21-11 victory over Kunlavut in the final.
Earlier, world No. 1 An Se Young of South Korea beat China’s He Bing Jiao 21-13, 21-16 for the women’s singles gold.
— Bernama
