Paris 2024 Badminton: Malaysia Lee Zii Jia Makes a Strong Comeback to Defeat India Lakshya Sen for Bronze

Jayce September 6, 2024 2 0

No shouts or screams, no outpouring of emotion or tears. No one grabbed their national flag from the crowd and sprinted around in glory, as Viktor Axelsen did after claiming his second consecutive Olympic gold medal.

But winning the bronze medal, his first Olympic medal, still meant a great deal to Lee Zii Jia. He defeated Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in the men’s singles badminton match at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Monday, August 5th.

“To be honest, after losing the match yesterday, I wasn’t sure if I even wanted this medal because my goal was only gold,” Lee said, referring to his semi-final loss to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn the day before.

“We have many bronze and silver medals, but only one gold. After losing the match, honestly, I felt like Kunlavut slapped me out of a beautiful dream, and I was left blank.

“I didn’t eat well, and I didn’t sleep well afterward. Somehow, this morning, I didn’t eat much either. I was very worried about my condition because we need a lot of energy to get here. In the match, I lost control in the first game and the second game as well.

“Lakshya still played a very good game and was in a favorable position. Somehow, I overcame it and won the match. For me, it was a very, very incredible journey.”

Lee was certainly in danger during his match against Sen, who comfortably took the first game and led 8-3 in the second game. Things did not look good for the Malaysian star.

But then Lee took a deep breath. He reminded himself that losing one match could result in an Olympic medal. He could hear the media back home sharpening their knives.

At that moment, Lee decided he was going to dig himself out of the hole and climb onto the podium.

“I knew I couldn’t lose this match,” he said. Lee then won the next nine points, taking control and thoroughly defeating Sen. The Indian tied the score at 12-all but never led again for the remainder of the match.

Lee Zii Jia might not have shown it, but he knew exactly how significant this victory was. He also knew what it meant to become the third Malaysian men’s singles player to win a medal, following in the footsteps of Rashid Sidek and Lee Chong Wei.

“A lot has happened since I became a professional player, which has made me mature,” Lee said. “I know people are curious why I wasn’t shouting on the court, but it wasn’t intentional.