MALAYSIA’S Lee Zii Jia ended his challenge in the Paris Olympic Games on a memorable note by defeating India’s Lakshya Sen in the bronze medal match playoff at the Port de la Chapelle Arena.
Zii Jia’s 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 victory over Lakshya in 71 minutes gave Malaysia its second bronze medal at the Games. This followed the men’s doubles pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik’s unforgettable victory against Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark, with scores of 16-21, 22-20, 21-19.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, on his official X page, congratulated the shuttler.
“Congratulations Lee Zii Jia! Another breathtaking performance that has led to the second bronze medal for the country,” he said.
Zii Jia struggled to control the shuttle in the first game, trailing from start to finish and losing 13-21.
Despite trailing 3-8 in the second game, he never lost confidence. Slowly but surely, he turned the tide with his clever net play, scoring nine straight points to lead 12-8.
Lakshya fought back to level the score at 12-12, with a series of powerful smashes. Zii Jia then tightened his game, using quick footwork and drives to move ahead to 19-16. The game was briefly halted as Lakshya required a bandage for a bruised right hand below the elbow after a fall.
Upon resumption, Zii Jia scored two more points to win the game 21-16, forcing a rubber game.
Zii Jia grew in confidence in the rubber game, chasing every shuttle, even diving on a few occasions to retrieve drop shots or smashes.
He led 11-6 at the change and maintained control as the match progressed. Lakshya, appearing tired, challenged a lob by Zii Jia, but the review showed it touched the baseline and Zii Jia reached match point at 20-11.
Zii Jia then ended the match with a smash that Lakshya returned to the net.
Having lost to Lakshya in four of their past five meetings, Zii Jia knew today’s match would not be easy. He had come close to defeating the Indian player in previous encounters, including the 2022 All England (13-21, 12-19) and this year’s tournament in March (22-20, 16-21, 19-21).
Both players gave commendable performances to reach the bronze medal playoff. Zii Jia lost to reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 14-21, 15-21, while Lakshya lost to Denmark’s defending gold medallist Viktor Axelsen 20-22, 14-21 in the semi-finals.
With his win, Zii Jia became the third Malaysian singles player to win a medal in the Olympics. Datuk Rashid Sidek won a bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Games, while Datuk Lee Chong Wei captured three silvers in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2012.
Axelsen succeeded in winning his second consecutive Olympic gold medal by outplaying Kunlavut in the subsequent final, 21-11, 21-11.
The Danish player became the second player after Lin Dan of China to win two Olympic gold medals in the men’s singles. Lin Dan won it back-to-back in 2008 Games in Beijing and the 2012 Games in London. Axelsen is also a two-time world champion.
South Korea’s An Se-young, the reigning world champion, added the Olympic title to her collection by beating China’s He Bingjiao in the women’s singles final.
An, who suffered a serious knee injury in the Asian Games last year, overcame her sixth-seeded opponent 21-13, 21-16 in the final.
Although not the same dominant player as last year, An, 22, trained hard for the Olympics and demonstrated steady performances throughout the Paris Games.
Her victory marks her as South Korea’s first Olympic women’s singles champion since 1996.
He, who lost the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, qualified for the final when her Spanish opponent Carolina Marin retired from their semi-final due to a knee injury.
The bronze medal went to Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska by default after Marin’s semi-final retirement.
Story and pix by K.H. Ong