Zii Jia goes down to Thailand's Kunlavut in Olympics semi-finals

The Malaysian badminton camp’s first gold medal hope at the 2024 Paris Olympics went up in smoke after single player Lee Zii Jia lost in the semi-finals today.

Lee (above) was defeated 14-21, 15-21 by reigning Badminton World Federation champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the Porte de La Chapelle Arena.

The 26-year-old and Kunlavut, 23, fought closely in the beginning before the Thai shuttler took off with his “sting smashes”. 

Kunlavut continued to dominate in the second game, while Lee’s attempt to close the gap didn’t materialise after a 50-minute battle. 

Lee advanced to the semi-finals after beating world number three of Denmark, Anders Antonsen, 21-17, 21-15 on Friday, while Kunlavut stunned world number one Shi Yu Qi from China with a 21-12, 21-10 straight sets win. 

During his debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games, Lee lost to Chinese champion Chen Long in the last 16 stage. 

No Malaysian shuttlers managed to get past the semi-finals in the Olympics for the second consecutive edition, since winning three silver medals in the Rio 2016 games. 

In Paris 2024, Malaysia had three representatives in the semi-finals but none managed to advance to the finals. 

Men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik lost to top seeds Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang of China, while women’s doubles Pearly Tan-M Thinaah were defeated by Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan, another Chinese top pair.

- Bernama

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