Zii Jia To Carry Malaysia's Gold Medal Hopes At Tokyo Oylmpics

GEORGE TOWN (Penang, Malaysia) March 22 (Bernama) -- Newly crowned All England badminton singles champion Lee Zii Jia has emerged as one of Malaysia’s best bets to clinch the country’s first ever Olympic gold medal, at the Tokyo Games in July, said Reezal Merican Naina Merican. The Youth and Sports Minister said the 22-year-old shuttler’s victory at the prestigious championship last night proved that he possessed amazing ability and fighting spirit. "Although it is premature to say that Zii Jia is on track to triumph at the Olympics, with preparation he can be a strong potential gold medallist, in addition to our divers and cyclists (to win at the Olympics). "What’s important now is that Zii Jia needs to maintain a consistent performance and take care of his fitness while avoiding injury. His win at the championship is a high point for him as he had the spirit to fight till the end, and winning that crucial 30th point. "His victory last night was celebrated by all Malaysians and our Olympic dreams lie with him in the upcoming Games … now other badminton players need to watch out for (Zii Jia),” he told reporters after chairing the Penang state development action council meeting here Monday. Reezal Merican said his personal observation was that Zii Jia’s performance was peaking and that he would be unstoppable when at his best. "Hopefully, we will witness the 'unstoppable' Zii Jia perform at his best during the Olympic Games,” he said, adding that Zii Jia had finally made his mark at the international level. According to him, he spoke to Zii Jia after his victory over Japanese world number one Kento Momota in the quarter-finals, advising him to stay focused on getting to the final and winning the championship. He congratulated the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) for their courageous move to field young players, especially women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M Thinaah, thus showing that the country did not lack talents capable of competing against the best in the world. The sixth seeded Zii Jia stunned defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 30-29, 20-22, 21-19 to win the men’s singles title at Utilita Arena in Birmingham. -- BERNAMA