Paris 2024 badminton: Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia storms back to win bronze over India’s Lakshya Sen
There was no shouting or screaming, no outpouring of emotions or flooding of tears. There was no grabbing his country’s flag from the crowd and sprinting a lap of honour - as Viktor Axelsen did after storming to his second straight Olympic gold medal.
But capturing bronze, his first medal at the Games, still meant a tremendous amount to Lee Zii Jia, who came back from a game down to beat Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 badminton tournament on Monday, 5 August.
“To be honest after I lost the game yesterday, actually I wasn’t sure that I wanted this medal or not because my goal is only the gold medal,” Lee said, referring to his semi-final defeat by Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand a day earlier.
“We have lots of bronze and silver but only one gold. After the loss it felt like I just get slapped by Kunlavut from a very good dream to be honest and I was blank at that moment.
“I couldn’t eat well, I couldn’t sleep well after that and somehow this morning also I didn’t eat a lot. I was quite worried about my condition because we need a lot of energy to be here. Coming to the game as well, first set I was out of control and second set as well.
“Lakshya was still having a very good game, still in good position and somehow I overcame it and won the game. It’s a very, very unbelievable journey for me.”
Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia staged a second-game turnaround that helped him to secure his first Olympic medal
Lee Zii Jia: ‘I deserved it’
For sure, Lee was on the ropes against Sen, who was up 8-3 in the second game after comfortably taking the first. It did not look good for the Malaysian star.
But then Lee exhaled. He reminded himself of the consequences of losing a match with an Olympic medal on the line. He could hear the knives being sharpened by the media back home.
Lee decided right then and there that he was going to dig himself out of the hole and climb on to the podium.
“I knew I could not lose this game,” he said.
Lee went on to win the next nine points to take command, which completely threw off Sen. The Indian levelled the score at 12, but would never lead again for the remainder of the match.
Lee may not have displayed it but he knew full well how resounding of a victory it was, and what it meant to become only the third Malaysian male singles player to win a medal after Rashid Sidek and Lee Chong Wei.
“After I became a professional player, a lot of things happened and it turned me into a mature person,” Lee said. “I know that everyone is curious why I didn’t shout too emotionally on the court but I didn’t mean to do it purposely.
“It’s just how I react. After I won the bronze, I didn’t jump up and down. I don’t feel like I wanted to celebrate because I know that I’ve come this far.
“I’ve been through so much and somehow I think I deserved it.”