KUALA LUMPUR – As expected, Malaysia’s men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia smashed his way into the Paris Olympics round of 16 today.
After seeing off Sri Lanka’s Viren Nettasinghe in the opening tie on Sunday, world number seven Zii Jia made quick work of Spain’s Pablo Abian 21-10, 21-13 to top Group G.
Back then, Zii Jia lost in three games to 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist Chen Long of China.
Speaking to the Badminton World Federation in his post-match interview, Zii Jia said: “I’ve secured my place in the last 16 again. Hopefully, this year’s result will be much better for me.
“Pablo made things a little hard for me at the start of the game, but I managed to handle it. Conditions in this arena can be quite complicated, but I’m sure the other players are feeling the same.
“We just need to adapt.”
Well aware of how things can quickly go south at the Olympics, Zii Jia chose to play down any talk of who he fancies meeting in the next round.
“It’s hard to say, this is the Olympics; the environment is different, with a lot of upsets.
“Whoever I meet next will be tough. (Anthony Sinisuka) Ginting is an experienced player, while Toma Popov is playing at home, so the energy and spirit will be higher than usual,” added Zii Jia, who completes the line-up of Malaysian shuttlers to clear the group stages.
For the record, former world number one and three-time silver medallist Datuk Lee Chong Wei remains the last Malaysian singles player to stand on the podium at the Olympics (2016). – July 31, 2024