Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has ordered all parties to refrain from discussing issues with the country's professional men's singles player, Lee Zii Jia. Instead, she advised Malaysians to celebrate the 26-year-old player's feat in winning the country's second bronze medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"The debate over whether to join the association or play professionally can wait another day. Yes, there is a history with BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia), and yes, he was temporarily in RTG (Road to Gold) before deciding against it, and he is now entirely free to play.
"But can we as a country pause for a moment and celebrate the fact that this young man has traveled a long way, got back up, and made it to the Olympic podium?" Hannah, according to Malaysiakini.
"Celebrate his success and well done to coach Wong Tat Meng for helping Zii Jia reach this level," she said.
Men's singles ace Lee Zii Jia thinks his bronze medal at the Paris Olympics demonstrates his hard work and determination since becoming an independent player in 2022 has paid off.
The 26-year-old came back from a game down to defeat India's world No. 22 Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in the third-place play-off yesterday, becoming the third Malaysian shuttler to earn an Olympic medal in men's singles.
World No. 7 Zii Jia, who had stated that he was concerned about whether he could qualify for the Olympics following a decline in his global ranking, said he was resolved to prove his naysayers wrong after leaving the national team.
“I did not want to give up so easily after losing the first game. I faced numerous hurdles since becoming an independent player (in 2022) and wanted to establish myself, said Zii Jia after the match. A lot has happened over the last three years. I wanted to give up several times, but I never cried. Every morning when I woke up, I read a lot of information about myself. I kept wondering what I had done wrong. Despite the negative media coverage, I chose to remain silent.
“I'm proud of myself. This is not the medal I was hoping to win. I aimed to win gold. This might only be bronze, but it's a solid start for me. I'll come back stronger for the 2028 Los Angeles Games and win gold,” said Zii Jia, according to Free Malaysia Today.
Zii Jia is the third Malaysian to win an Olympic medal in the men's singles event, following Rashid Sidek (bronze in 1996) and Lee Chong Wei (silver in 2008, 2012, and 2016).
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