KUALA LUMPUR: After winning an Olympic bronze medal today, Lee Zii Jia revealed that he was "slapped awake" by his semi-final loss to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
World No. 7 Zii Jia was defeated 21-14, 21-15 by the Thai world champion yesterday, sending him into the bronze medal playoff against India's world No. 22 Lakshya Sen.
Zii Jia said he had gone to Paris with the dream of winning the men's singles gold, but following his semi-final setback, he wasn't looking forward to the match against Lakshya.
However, the Kedahan, who lost in the last 16 of the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, showed great determination in coming back from a game down to win 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in 71 minutes and earn an Olympic bronze medal at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena.
That despite Lakshya enjoying a 4-1 head-to-head record against Zii Jia, with the lndian's last win coming in the All-England quarter-finals in March this year.
In his post-match interview, Zii Jia, 26, said initially he wasn't so sure he wanted to win the bronze after losing the semi-final to Kunlavut.
"My goal was to win Olympic gold, I wanted to prove myself so much, and the medal that Malaysia is missing is gold.
"We have had bronze and a lot of silver, but only that one medal is missing.
"Somehow, after I lost (in the semis), it felt like I just got slapped awake by Kunlavut from a very good dream, to be honest," Zii Jia told the BWF.
The 2021 All England champion said he could not eat or sleep well after the semi-final loss. And even when he woke up this morning, he could not bring himself to eat a proper breakfast as the defeat to Kunlavut still hurt him.
This led to Zii Jia admitting that he was a little worried about his physical condition coming into the bronze playoff as he was unsure he had enough nutrition in him for the energy needed to play a top opponent like Lakshya.
"We need a lot of energy to play here, and coming into the court, I was not in control and lost the first game.
"Even in the second game, I was in trouble as Lakshya was playing well and in good form.
"But somehow I managed to overcome it and win the game. It has been an unbelievable journey for me," Zii Jia added.
Zii Jia said he realised that it was important for him to find an answer to Lakshya's sharp attacking play. But he had to dig deep to overcome the situation.
"I had to win the match as I realised it will impact my confidence (negatively if he didn't). So I know I can't lose.
"These past three years since turning pro, a lot of things have happened, and it has turned me into a mature person.
"I have come this far and I have been through so much, and I think I deserve this (medal)," he said.
Zii Jia's win sees him deliver Malaysia's second medal at the Paris Olympics after Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik defeated Denmark's world No. 2 pair Anders Skaarup Rasmusen-Kim Astrup in the bronze medal playoff yesterday.