‘Mental strength is not about being strong all the time, but about being able to pick yourself up and keep going when life gets tough.’
– Unknown
I am not into sports and neither do I play badminton. But there I was, watching Malaysian badminton player, Lee Zii Jia battle against Thailand’s champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semi-finals and eventually losing to him.
I was in the office watching the match live on TV.
Seeing Lee lose to Kunlavut was painful; he had gone to Paris with the hope of bringing back the Olympic men’s singles bronze medal.
After Lee lost, I asked the Sports subeditor “Is there any chance of him ever winning a medal?”
“Yes,” replied my patient colleague, “there is a bronze medal decider.”
I did not watch the bronze medal decider but followed the update on YouTube.
Last Tuesday, at 12.14 am, I happily sent the Sports subeditor a screenshot of a video entitled “Penyampaian Pingat: Lee Zii Jia/Gangsa Olimpik Paris 2024” (Medal Presentation: Lee Zii Jia/Bronze Olympic Paris 2024). I was so happy Lee won at least a bronze medal.
There was also a news report in The Star with a picture of Lee and the headline “Zii Jia shines to deliver second bronze medal for Malaysia in Paris.” I happily sent it to my colleague in the wee hours of Tuesday.
I have never attended a live badminton tournament with my favourite stars in action before. If I were at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena on the day Lee performed in the bronze medal decider against India’s Lakshya Sen, I think, overwhelmed by the excitement and anxiety, I would not be looking at the badminton court but elsewhere.
After he lost terribly to Kunlavut, many Malaysians were not confident Lee could return home with the bronze medal.
But the 26-year-old surprised many with his mental toughness. His coach, Wong Tat Meng, was proud that Lee’s loss to Kunlavut did not interfere with the 26-year-old’s performance in the bronze medal decider against India’s Lakshya.
Wong said the mental strength of the world’s No.6 had improved and this led him to win the Olympic men’s singles bronze medal
Wong said this was evident in Lee’s come-from-behind victory against India’s Lakshya Sen in the third-placing match on Monday. The Malaysian badminton player beat Lakshya 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 to win Malaysia a second bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“This is a strong return from Lee, especially at a huge tournament after losing in the semi-final.
Wong said Lee managed to come back quickly to win the bronze.
“You can see the difference between his previous performance and the bronze medal playoff. I’m proud of him,” Wong told the media after arriving at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The bronze medal is Lee’s first Olympic medal after being eliminated in the last-16 round at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.
Earlier on, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik won the bronze medal in the men’s doubles – Malaysia’s first at the Paris Games – by defeating Denmark’s Anders Skaarup Rasmussen-Kim Astrup in a three-game match.
Lee, born in Alor Setar, Kedah, to Malaysian parents who are both schoolteachers and former basketball internationals, was first introduced to badminton by his parents at the age of 6.
As Malaysia’s No. 1 singles badminton player, he is often compared to Datuk Lee Chong Wee, a Malaysian former professional badminton player and regarded as his successor.
As a singles player, Chong Wei was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from August 21, 2008 to June 14, 2012.
Chong Wei, born in Bagan Serai, Perak, into a Malaysian Chinese family, embarked on his journey to becoming a champion at the age of 11.
Lee has admitted to the pressure of being compared to Chong Wei.
“As the Malaysian No. 1, I cannot run away from being compared with Chong Wei and this is something that I have to face my entire career,” Lee told the Badminton World Federation (BWF) recently.
That sadly is not the only challenge facing Lee. He has to be in control of his ankles, knees, hips, back and shoulders. His shoulder is also vulnerable to overuse injury, particularly the tendons.
He also faces challenges such as losing important matches, struggling with form or injuries, dealing with competition nerves, managing high expectations and facing tough opponents.
Badminton is a popular sport among schoolchildren in Sarawak. When they were young, my brothers used to play badminton with their friends and schoolmates either in school or private badminton courts. Even my nieces played badminton with their friends in school and sometimes in the lane in front of our house.
If you visit homes where there are schoolchildren, you are bound to come across some badminton rackets and balls.
When will Sarawak produce a Lee Zii Jia, a Lee Chong Wei, a Misbun Sidek,a Rashid Sidek or a Jalani Sidek? Like Chong Wei, the Sidek brothers were Malaysian former badminton players and coaches.
Perhaps a government-run centre should be established in Sarawak to develop badminton and produce more Olympic badminton stars for Malaysia. Yes, Sarawak boleh!
