KUALA LUMPUR – The fight for Malaysia’s maiden gold at the Olympics is on the cards for the country’s men’s singles poster boy, Lee Zii Jia, following his emphatic win over Denmark’s world number four, Anders Antonsen, in the quarter-finals earlier this morning.
The 26-year-old Kedah-born player, making his second appearance at the Games, needed only 53 minutes to send his Danish friend packing, 21-17, 21-15, at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris.
Speaking to the Badminton World Federation after his win, independent shuttler Zii Jia said: “First of all, I’m happy with this win because I’m now in the semi-finals.
“I didn’t expect this; I was surprised myself because you can see how much Anders wanted to win it. Maybe that’s why he made too many unforced errors.
“We may be friends outside the court, but when we play, we represent our country, and we want to win,” said Zii Jia, who had an inferior 3-5 head-to-head record against the Danish shuttler before the start of the match.
Zii Jia, who has an excellent chance of landing Malaysia’s first-ever Olympic gold, will face Thailand’s reigning world champion, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, next.
The Thai ace had earlier thrashed world number one and tournament favourite, Shi Yuqi of China 21-12, 21-10 in the last eight.
“My head-to-head record against Kunlavut is not good. He is the reigning world champion, and he just beat the top seed (Yuqi). He is in good condition and form,” added Zii Jia, who does not want to get too ahead of himself.
Both Zii Jia and Viditsarn have a 4-4 head-to-head record against each other.
Separately, Antonsen, who won the European Championships last year, believes Zii Jia has the pedigree to win the Olympic crown.
“Zii Jia definitely looks good for gold, but so does everybody else left in the draw; everyone is incredible on their best days.
“I’m just gutted because I had wished for a better Olympics, but Zii Jia seemed to have an answer to everything I threw at him,” said Antonsen.
For the record, former world number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei remains the last Malaysian singles player to win an Olympic medal.
Chong Wei won the silver medal on three occasions: in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Also reaching the semi-finals yesterday was India’s Lakshya Sen, who dispatched veteran shuttler Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan 19-21, 21-15, 21-12.
The Birmingham Commonwealth Games champion is up against former world number one and defending champion, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, in the other semi-final bout.
Axelsen defeated Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew 21-9, 21-17 in the quarter-finals. – August 3, 2024