Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in action during the match against Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand. - Reuters.
PETALING JAYA: Men's singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia's dream of winning gold in the Olympics ended after he went down to Thailand's reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semi-finals in Paris.
Zii Jia lost out 14-21, 15-21 to a pumped up Kunlavut at Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle on Sunday (Aug 4).
The independent player though still has a chance to bring back a medal and will take on either Denmark's defending champion Viktor Axelsen or India's Lakshya Sen in the bronze medal playoff match on Monday (Aug 5).
"I tried everything today but this is the result. I have missed out on the gold and silver but this is not the end of the world," said Zii Jia.
"I still have a chance to fight for the bronze and I will give my best tomorrow (Monday)."
With his defeat, Datuk Lee Chong Wei will remain as the best Malaysian men's singles performer in the Olympics, having won three silvers in the last three Olympic Games editions in 2008 Beijing, 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro.
