The All England Open champion has enjoyed a steady rise over the last few years
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Lee Zii Jia is the latest Malaysian shuttler who has made the world notice him with his impressive play. The 23-year-old badminton player has been gradually making in-roads in the sport over the past few years. It was March this year, he stamped his authority in the sport with a major title – the coveted All England Open. It was Lee Zii Jia’s maiden Super 1000 event victory.
What made the victory extra special was the fact that he managed to beat double world champion Momota Kento in the quarterfinals. Then, he defeated the 2017 world champion and his “idol” Viktor Axelsen in the final. “My idol is also Viktor Axelsen because I watch his gameplay many times, and I love the way he plays,” Lee Zii Jia told Olympic Channel.
At 1.86m in height, Lee’s height is a major plus in his game. He went on to reveal how he adapted different strategies to make the most of his height advantage. “Every move is a struggle and we have to work on many core muscles, and also our lower body, we have to make it strong, so that we can move very fast on court,” Lee Zii Jia added.
The height is one of the main reasons why the Malaysian shuttler looked up to the Rio 2016 bronze medallist Axelsen, who is 1.94m tall. “Because I’m tall, attacking is the best weapon we have,” Lee Zii Jia said.
Next up his Olympics for Lee. On the back of a major tournament victory, the Malaysian sensation will go into his maiden Olympics with a lot of confidence. “We all know that the Olympics is a very big tournament. My target is to win the Olympic gold medal,” he added.
