Basketball’s loss is badminton’s gain

1.86 metres tall, the towering Lee Zii Jia is mistaken by many people to be a basketballer.

Born to former national basketball players, Lee Chee Hin and Leow Siet Peng, Zii Jia could have gone on to be a basketball player, but he didn’t.

He picked up his first racquet at the age of six and soon he found himself gravitating towards badminton instead of basketball.

“I seemed to excel in badminton more than basketball, and I went in that direction,” said Zii Jia.

It was probably the young Kedah-born’s best ever decision, as he is now the All England champion.

Following a gruelling 30-29, 2022, 21-9 win over former world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark on Sunday, Zii Jia now joins an elite club of only six Malaysian players to have won the men’s singles title at the world’s oldest badminton tournament.

The other five were Wong Peng

Soon, Eddie Choong, Tan Aik Huang, Hafiz Hashim and Lee Chong Wei.

Chong Wei, who retired in 2019, was the last Malaysian to win the coveted trophy in 2017.

Zii Jia was already showing promise as a young shuttler, and at 13, he was roped in by Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS).

At 17, he was crowned junior champion in the Perak and Selangor Opens.

In 2016, Zii Jia won bronze at the World Junior Championships in Bilbao, Spain.

He was already a star in the making, and with Chong Wei at the end of his career, the BA of Malaysia (BAM) were already looking for a replacement.

Of course, it was not all rosy, and Zii Jia had to experience the daunting challenges after Chong Wei called it quits.

Having trained under experienced coaches such as Kwan Yoke Meng, Indra Wijaya, Misbun Sidek, Tey Seu Bock and Hendrawan,

Zii Jia slowly began moving up the ranks after his promotion to the senior squad in 2017.

In 2019, Zii Jia was crowned Sea Games champion, and in 2020 he finally broke into the world’s top 10 after reaching the semi-finals of the All England.

However, the Malaysian’s form suffered a huge dip when Covid19 happened.

At the start of this season, Zii Jia came under pressure for a string of poor performances at the Asian Leg of the World Tour in Bangkok.

However, that did little to deter him from silencing his critics when he powered his way to the All England crown.

He had defeated World No 1 Kento Momota of Japan in straight games 21-16, 21-19 in the quarter-finals.

Zii Jia still has a long way to go and much to learn, but he has given Malaysians a reason to dream again — the dream for an Olympic gold.