KUALA LUMPUR - Professional men's singles player Lee Zii Jia has been advised to focus on one tournament at a time before aiming for gold at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics (LA2028).
Former badminton great Datuk Rashid Sidek said that although Zii Jia's high aspirations are a positive sign following his bronze medal win at the Paris 2024 Olympics yesterday, it is important for the world number six to continue improving his performance and mental strength ahead of LA2028.
He said Zii Jia should strive to win as many tournaments as possible, including the world championships, and become the world number one, before embarking on the gold medal mission at the Olympics four years from now.
"In four years, anything can happen. The most important thing is to take care of his body because, as an athlete, if he is in good health, he can have quality training, which will enable him to perform (in any tournament).
"Win titles first and don’t think too far ahead; take it step by step. Thinking too far ahead can add unnecessary stress," he told Bernama.
In the wake of Zii Jia's desire to win the Olympics, Rashid said the 26-year-old player needs to be cautious of other challengers, including new players who could pose a threat to him at LA2028.
Yesterday, Zii Jia became the third Malaysian to win an Olympic medal in men's singles badminton, following Rashid's bronze at Atlanta 1996 and Datuk Lee Chong Wei's three silver medals at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016.
The Kedah-born player fought back to beat India's Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 and brought home the bronze medal. He lost to China's Chen Long in the round of 16 during his debut at Tokyo 2020.
Last Sunday, the country's number one men's doubles pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, gave Malaysia their first medal at Paris 2024 by defeating Denmark's Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 16-21, 22-20, 21-19.
Rashid described the achievements of the national badminton camp, which won two bronzes, as invaluable for the national contingent and the Malaysian people.
"Zii Jia's achievement of winning a medal is good, even though we hoped he would get gold, but it's not easy. Bronze is better than nothing," he said.
Meanwhile, Chong Wei congratulated and expressed pride in Zii Jia's success at Porte de La Chapelle Arena through a Facebook post.
The former world number one also admitted he is eager to see the challenges the 2022 Asian Badminton Championship winner will face at the next edition in LA2028.
"It's not easy to carry the responsibility of Malaysia's number one singles player. I hope you will prosper under this pressure and bring home the gold four years later,” he said. - BERNAMA