PARIS, Aug 6 – National men’s singles professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia has vowed to continue his Olympic gold quest at Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) after his Paris 2024 bronze medal finish.
Zii Jia, who arrived in Paris dreaming of gold after a good run in the recent World Tour tournaments, described his semi-final loss to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena as “being woken up from a good sleep with a tight slap”.
“I just went blank at that moment (defeat to Kunlavut) and wasn’t sure if I really wanted this bronze. We (Malaysia) already have a lot of bronze and silver medals from the Olympics… what we do not have yet is the gold medal.
“But, for me, this is a good start to my (Olympic) journey. I will definitely be back for LA28 and I will try to get the gold for myself and Malaysia,” he said after defeating India’s Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in the bronze medal playoff.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen retained his men’s singles gold medal with a dominant 21-11, 21-11 victory over Kunlavut of Thailand in the final.
