KUALA LUMPUR: For Lee Zii Jia, winning a title and reaching two finals in the past two weeks marks a notable improvement, suggesting a positive outlook as the Paris Olympics approach.
However, the question remains: how much can the 26-year-old sustain this level of performance and consistency?
The onus is now on world No. 10 Zii Jia to prove he can reproduce the performance that won him the Thailand Open and secured a runner-up finish at the recently concluded Malaysia Masters in the upcoming tournaments.
It remains uncertain whether the seemingly exhausted Zii Jia will participate in the Singapore Open starting tomorrow.
Nonetheless, his return for the Indonesia Open the following week will provide a true test of his capabilities.
Achieving back-to-back finals is not entirely unfamiliar territory for Zii Jia.
In 2022, he secured his first consecutive victories at the Thailand Open and Asia Championships.
Last year, Zii Jia emerged victorious at the Arctic Open and followed it up with a runner-up finish at the Denmark Open.
However, Zii Jia has yet to sustain such runs beyond two tournaments, so it will be interesting to see how things pan out for him over the next three weeks.
The Singapore Open and Indonesia Open, rated Super 750 and Super 1000 respectively, will feature a stronger field than the last two tournaments.
Among the returning top 10 rivals are China's Shi Yu Qi, Indonesia's Jonatan Christie, Anthony Ginting, and Japan's Kodai Naraoka.
After giving world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen a run for his money, ultimately succumbing 21-6, 20-22, 21-13 in Sunday's final, Zii Jia candidly admitted that he's still in pursuit of his "best version."
"I believe I'm on the right track to achieve the stability I've been striving for," said Zii Jia.
"As everyone knows, this isn't the first time I've reached back-to-back finals, so I'm eager to assess my performance in the upcoming tournaments. I'm still refining myself to deliver peak performances."
If anything, Zii Jia's recent resurgence reflects the tireless efforts of his coach, Wong Tat Meng, which are beginning to yield results.
Based on his recent displays, it's becoming more apparent that Zii Jia has now transformed into an all-round player, showcasing significant improvement in his defensive skills rather than relying heavily on explosive attacking play as a weapon.
It's been exactly 12 months since Tat Meng joined Team LZJ, bringing with him a wealth of coaching experience acquired abroad, including stints with the Malaysian national team, Indonesia, Scotland, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
"At first, when we hired Tat Meng as my head coach, our aim was to leverage his extensive experience.
"With coaching stints both locally and abroad, he's immersed himself in diverse badminton cultures.
"He's giving his all to help me achieve my Olympic dream," Zii Jia added.