Malaysian men’s singles player and World No. 7, Lee Zii Jia, won the 2nd bronze medal for Malaysia after beating Lakshya Sen from India in the Bronze Medal Match of men’s singles event of badminton at the Olympics 2024 held at Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Paris.
Zii Jia recovered from losing the first set 13-21 to claim victory with scores of 21-16, 21-11 in a 71-minute match, securing Malaysia’s second medal in Paris.
This win marks an improvement on his performance at the Tokyo Olympics, where he reached the round of 16 before losing to Chinese silver medalist Chen Long 21-8, 19-21, 5-21.
In the bronze medal match, Lee Zii Jia started the first set slowly, allowing Lakshya to lead 10-4 and trailing by six points at the interval, with Lakshya ahead 11-5. Despite adding two points to make it 13-19, Zii Jia couldn’t catch up, and Lakshya won the first set 21-13 in 20 minutes.
In the second set, Zii Jia made a comeback, tying the score at 8-8 and leading 11-8 at the interval. Although Lakshya managed to level the score at 12-12, Zii Jia maintained his lead, winning the second set 21-16 to force a decider.
The third set saw Zii Jia dominating, leading 9-2 at one point and 11-6 at the interval. He didn’t look back, finishing the match with a 21-11 victory, securing the bronze medal.
Credit Photo : OCM
