With Lee Chong Wei’s influence, many Malaysians are very into the badminton sport and we recognise our national team and players.
Lee Zii Jia is one of those newer faces we think of whenever someone spoke about badminton. However, he needed to make an early exit at the Japan Open on 26 July during his first match as he lost to Kenta Nishimoto of Japan. The score was Kenta Nishimoto (Jpn) beats Lee Zii Jia (Mas) 20-22, 21-17, 21-19.
After the match and in an interview with SPOTV Malaysia, Lee Zii Jia was stone-faced and he took approximately 10 seconds to answer the question regarding his loss.
“Lost again, disappointing match.”
#BWF | 💬 "Kalah lagi & perlawanan yang mengecewakan."
Zii Jia dah cuba untuk comeback di rubber set tetapi tidak berjaya selepas tewas dengan Kenta Nishimoto 🇯🇵 22-20, 17-21, 19-21.
Ikuti kami untuk lebih banyak konten badminton Malaysia! #JapanOpen2023 #SPOTVMY pic.twitter.com/ErudaphidU
— SPOTV Malaysia (@SPOTVMY) July 26, 2023
When asked about his progress towards the 2024 Paris Olympics, he shook his head and said:
“I don’t see any progress so far.”
The video ended with the interviewer asking him what message he has to his Malaysian fans and all he could say is just, “I’m sorry and thank you.”
During the quick interview, he was seen sighing and looking obviously dejected. This loss is his 4th first-round exit (consecutively) and the 6th overall in 2023.
Many fans felt that he was giving up so they decided to send him some words of encouragement.
“Don’t give up, if you’re looking for inspiration, you don’t have to look far. Look at players such as Ginting, Antonsen, and Sen. They have fallen terribly before but now, they’re getting back up again.”
We know you can do it, Lee Zii Jia! You have it in you!
Also read: “Faster than an F1 car” – Pearly Tan Sets World Record For Fastest Badminton Smash (Female)
