Lee Zii Jia: Everything you need to know about the shuttler who stands between Lakshya Sen and India's first Olympic men's singles medal at the Games
Lee Zii Jia is the last obstacle standing between Lakshya Sen and a fourth-consecutive badminton medal for India at the Olympics. The duo will take on each other on the courts of La Chapelle Arena for the men's singles bronze medal match as they bid to claim a podium finish in Paris.
Lee’s game has been characterized by his impossibly close dribbles and aggressive smashes, giving him the uncanny ability to open up his opponent’s court whenever he wants. Combine this with his lethal backhand, the 26-year-old can often be one of the most difficult players to read.
Early signs of the Malaysian’s genius shone through at 2016 World Junior Championships where he won a bronze. A year later, he claimed his first senior international title when he won the Polish International. The next few years saw the shuttler continue his climb in the rankings, winning the Chinese Taipei Open, and SEA Games gold en route to the top ten.
2021 saw Lee Zii Jia win his first Super 1000 event after he beat Viktor Axelsen in the finals of the All England Championships in a marathon match. Later that year, he made his Olympic debut, failing to make it past the round of 16 after losing to Chen Long.
Over the next couple of years, Lee struggled to find consistency on the court, suffering multiple early losses, with the exception being his performance at the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships where he was crowned champion.
2024 has seen the shuttler regain some of his original gusto in court as he claimed win at both the Thailand Open and Australian Open events, marking the first times he’s won multiple tournaments in a single season.
Lee Zii Jia at the Paris Olympics
After strong performances in the first half of the 2024 season, Lee Zii Jia continued his run of impressive performances at the Paris Olympics. The Malaysian took down both of his group stage opponents with ease, never needing more than two games.
For his round of 16 encounter, the 26-year-old downed the host nation's Toma Junior Popov in 47 minutes, before delivering a similar blow to former World Championships silver-medalist Anders Antonsen.
In the semifinals, Lee was up against reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn. He fell short of his Thai opponent, the scoreline reading 14-21, 15-21.