PETALING JAYA: Independent men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia revealed that he was far from fully fit when he faced Singapore’s Jason Teh in the first round of the Hylo Open on Wednesday (Oct 28).
Zii Jia was hit by a high fever and vomiting a day before the match and even went to the hospital, where a doctor advised him against playing.
However, the Paris Olympics bronze medallist was determined not to throw in the towel before giving himself a chance on court.
“Yesterday I had a really bad fever, and I vomited as well. It was a very tough night for me."
“Luckily, I woke up today and felt that I would be able to play the match. The doctor (had) told me to withdraw," he said in a post-match interview with Badminton Europe on Wednesday (Oct 28).
Despite being under the weather, Zii Jia battled to a 21-16, 19-21, 21-17 win in 59 minutes and will face Japan’s world championships silver medallist Kodai Naraoka in the second round.
“I just didn’t want to surrender. I tried my best to recover, and that’s why you could see my emotions just now. I overcame something that was very tough for me,” he added.
Zii Jia also admitted he was unsure what had caused him to fall ill and said he had barely eaten the previous day.
“I don’t think I ate anything yesterday because I had no appetite. So, yes, I’m definitely happy that I managed to overcome it today,” he said.
The Kedah-born shuttler arrived in Saarbrucken with high hopes after rediscovering some of his best form at the Arctic Open two weeks ago, where he reached the semi-finals.
