PETALING JAYA: From a greenhorn to a leader, Lee Zii Jia’s role has changed drastically over the last two years in his Thomas Cup Finals campaign.
The 22-year-old played as the second singles when the team was led by Lee Chong Wei in Bangkok 2018 but in the upcoming Finals in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct 3-11, he will play in the first singles.
Zii Jia thanked the Badminton Association of Malaysia for their faith in him.
“I’m grateful and thankful to BAM because they’ve made me who I am today,” said the 2019 SEA Games champion.
“They’ve chosen to invest in me and now I want to prove that they’ve made the right choice.”
He added that he has learnt a lot from his mentor, Chong Wei.
“He has been my idol from my juniors day. All the juniors then wanted to be like him,” said Zii Jia, who was thrilled to play alongside Chong Wei at the last final.
“That’s the motivation and the reason why I keep training hard.”
Chong Wei has since retired and Zii Jia is excited to lead a young team to Denmark.
“The will be no pressure on us as we are not expected to win,” said Zii Jia.
“We’ll just prepare and perform to the best of our ability. We might cause a few upsets ... nothing is impossible.”
Zii Jia should know as a relatively young team did the unthinkable during the Thomas Cup qualifying tournament in Manila in February when they upset Japan en route to the final before going down fighting to Indonesia.
“Right now, I’m just hoping to get back to training and get the tournament feeling again.”
The 22-year-old played as the second singles when the team was led by Lee Chong Wei in Bangkok 2018 but in the upcoming Finals in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct 3-11, he will play in the first singles.
Zii Jia thanked the Badminton Association of Malaysia for their faith in him.
“I’m grateful and thankful to BAM because they’ve made me who I am today,” said the 2019 SEA Games champion.
“They’ve chosen to invest in me and now I want to prove that they’ve made the right choice.”
He added that he has learnt a lot from his mentor, Chong Wei.
“He has been my idol from my juniors day. All the juniors then wanted to be like him,” said Zii Jia, who was thrilled to play alongside Chong Wei at the last final.
“That’s the motivation and the reason why I keep training hard.”
Chong Wei has since retired and Zii Jia is excited to lead a young team to Denmark.
“The will be no pressure on us as we are not expected to win,” said Zii Jia.
“We’ll just prepare and perform to the best of our ability. We might cause a few upsets ... nothing is impossible.”
Zii Jia should know as a relatively young team did the unthinkable during the Thomas Cup qualifying tournament in Manila in February when they upset Japan en route to the final before going down fighting to Indonesia.
“Right now, I’m just hoping to get back to training and get the tournament feeling again.”
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