Lee Zii Jia reaches quarter finals at Hylo Open 2021

Badminton star Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia was in top form to beat the Republic of Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen 22-20, 21-16 and reach the quarterfinals of the Hylo Open 2021 in Saarbrücken, Germany on Thursday (4 November).

The 2020 Olympian will play Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the last eight.

Top seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei was knocked out in the first round to the unseeded Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.

Lee Zii Jia won his first Super 1000 tournament at the All England Championships back in March 2021. He exited the 2020 Olympics at the round of 16 stage.

Lee Zii Jia: the tears behind the success

Lee Zii Jia has become a big star in Malaysia in the past couple of years. By November 2021, he had amassed around 800k followers on Instagram.

But during an interview on the Goxuan YouTube channel, he revealed that he wasn’t always so popular; especially in school.

“When I was 14, midway through the year, I called my mother saying: ‘I want to go home. I don’t want to (play badminton) anymore’,” he said according to Hype.my.

“I would cry myself to sleep everyday,” he said. His peers would also take measures to avoid him in the cafeteria. “I would take my plate and just as I start to sit (at the table), at that moment, all of them would grab their plates and leave,” he said.

Lee Zii Jia: now ‘okay’ with the nickname ‘BB’

The new-found popularity has also seen Lee Zii Jia acquire the nickname ‘BB’. Initially, it made the 23-year-old uncomfortable. But, now, he has become relaxed about it.

“I’m actually okay with it. It’s a social media thing. I can’t control what people call me,” he said.

“Whether it’s good or bad, I will accept it… So, the current impact on me isn’t great.”

You can follow Lee Zii Jia’s progress at the Hylo Open 2021 over at the official site.