Lee Zii Jia exclusive: "Good progress coming" but hard work continues on finding consistency
Things are looking brighter for Lee Zii Jia but there's still work to be done.
That's how the Malaysian badminton star assesses his recent performances after a rocky and inconsistent 2023.
Lee suffered a string of first- and second-round exits at tournaments in the first half of last year, before a positive showing at the Asian Games led to an upturn in form including back-to-back finals and a first title in 17 months.
This year, the 26-year-old has three quarter-final finishes, albeit countered with two first-round eliminations.
"I would say it's getting better, with many positive things I can go with," Lee tells Olympics.com in a recent interview conducted at the French Open.
"And the recent team event I think was a good performance, so we just keep going," he adds in reference to February's Asia Team Championships, at which hosts Malaysia won the men's silver medal.
Consistency and confidence remain Zii Jia's keywords
When Olympics.com spoke to Lee last year at the Asian Games, the Malaysian bemoaned a lack of consistency in his play.
While things seem to be looking up, the ever-self-aware Lee insists his focus remains the same: building his confidence through repetition of solid results.
"I would say I feel more confident, but it's still far from what I want to be," he emphasises. "It's a long journey; it's part of the process.
"It's still the same things. We can look on the positive side that we have good progress now, but we have to consistently keep going."
One thing contributing to Lee's re-established confidence are the innovative methods put in place by his coach Wong Tat Meng, with whom the Malaysian has been working since the middle of 2023, shortly before his upturn in form.
Over the short badminton off-season, Lee posted photos on Instagram of different training sessions, including one held on a beach instead of on a badminton court.
"What coach Tat Meng has taught me I think is much more different from what I have learned from other coaches," the Malaysian reveals.
"I mean it is a totally new thing for me. I think we are still in a (process) to making changes from my training side; he's trying to think (of) something new just to let me to enjoy the training.
"I'm happy to work along with coach as well, and we can see there's good progress coming, so like I said we just have to keep going."
LA Lakers and Manchester United: How Lee Zii Jia takes his mind off badminton
There's one thing occupying the minds of the top badminton players currently.
With the top 16 in the Olympic qualifying Race to Paris rankings automatically earning a quota spot (subject to NOC limits), Lee knows that his presence at Paris 2024 is very likely.
(Malaysia's NOC has the exclusive authority for the representation of its delegation at the Olympic Games, and Lee's participation at the Paris Games depends on the NOC selecting him.)
However, the top 14 will also earn a seed in the group stage, in theory allowing them to be drawn against 'easier' opposition.
"Of course," Lee replies when asked if he pays attention to his ranking. "Not just for qualification for the Olympics, but for the seeding as well."
So how does he take his mind away from badminton? What does Lee Zii Jia do in his down time?
"Watching football and basketball games," Lee admits. "Basketball is the [Los Angeles] Lakers and football is Manchester United," he adds of his favourite teams.
And, on occasion in the past, the Malaysian has been known to dabble in music, singing and playing the guitar. "But these two years not very often," he laughs when asked about these other hobbies.
"Mostly now it's watching football and basketball – I love to play the football games as well on PlayStation, like EA Sports FC," Lee says of the game franchise previously known as EA Sports FIFA.
Taking his mind off badminton has helped over the last year and a half when he struggled with his form, Lee says.
"Just don't think about it and look forward. Sometimes you lose and it's hard to accept, but just take the positive path forward.
"That's the most important for me."