Roller-coaster ride: Lee Zii Jia celebrates after beating India’s Lakshya Sen in the men’s singles bronze medal playoff. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia achieved a big moment in his badminton career by winning a bronze medal in his second Olympic Games appearance.
The 26-year-old Zii Jia fought back from a game down to beat India’s world No. 22 Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in the third-place playoff at Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle yesterday.
He said the podium finish was a testament of his hard work and struggle as a professional.
“I did not want to give up easily (after losing the first game),” said an emotional Zii Jia after the match.
“I went through a lot of challenges since becoming an independent player (in 2022) and wanted to prove myself.
“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 the gold.”
But the win did not come easy for Zii Jia.
The Kedahan faced a tough task as he had never beaten 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya in an individual competition previously with his sole win over the latter coming in the 2022 Thomas Cup Finals.
Zii Jia lost four times to the 22-year-old but refused to give up this time after losing the first game.
He got off to a poor start but recovered well to win against the Indian in 72 minutes to give Malaysia the second medal in the Paris Games.
A day ago, men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik also clinched bronze.
To be honest, after I lost the match yesterday (against Kunlavut Vitidsarn), 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 was blank. 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.”
Zii Jia has now become the third Malaysian to win an Olympic medal in the men’s singles after Datuk Rashid Sidek and Datuk Lee Chong Wei.
Meanwhile, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark defended his Olympic gold after beating Vitidsarn 21-11, 21-11 in the final.
RESULTS
BADMINTON
Men’s singles
Final: Viktor Axelsen (Den) bt Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) 21-11, 21-11.
Bronze medal playoff: Lee Zii Jia (Mas) bt Lakshya Sen (Ind) 13-21, 21-16, 21-11.
Men’s doubles
Final: Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin (Tpe) bt Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang (Chn) 21-17, 18-21, 21-19.
Women’s singles
Final: An Se-young (Kor) bt He Bingjiao (Chn) 21-13, 21-16.
GOLF
Men final round
265: Scottie Scheffler (US) 67-69-67-62;
266: Tommy Fleetwood (Gbr) 67-64-69-66;
267: Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 63-68-71-65.
Selected: 281: Gavin Green (Mas) 74-69-69-69; Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 70, 69, 71, 71.
SAILING
After eight races
Men’s dinghy: 1. Matt Wearn (Aus) 38; 2. Pavlos Kontides (Cyp) 52; Stefano Peschiera (Per) 62. Selected: 32. Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy (Mas) 168
Women’s dinghy: 1. Marit Bouwmeester (Ned) 19; 2. Anne-Marie Rindom (Den) 47; 3. Maud Jayet (Sui) 59. Selected: 34. Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif (Mas) 182
MALAYSIANS IN ACTION
- TOMORROW
GOLF
Women individual stroke play
9pm: Ashley Lau
- THURSDAY
CYCLING
Men’s sprint qualifying
12.45am: Azizulhasni Awang, Shah Firdaus Sahrom
Women’s keirin first round
1.26am: Nurul Izzah Izzati Asri
DIVING
Women’s 3M Springboard
3am: Nur Dhabitah Sabri
WEIGHTLIFTING
Men’s 61kg
3am: Aniq Kasdan
