Lee Zii Jia ( zh, s=李梓嘉, poj=Lí Chú-ka, p=Lǐ Zǐjiā, born 29 March 1998) is a Malaysian

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player. He is a bronze medalist at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, Asian champion and All England champion. He is best known for his smash, especially his backhand smash, physical agility, speed and reflexes in men's singles. He was the men's singles gold medalist at the 2019 SEA Games and won his first BWF Super 1000 title at the 2021 All England Open. He was also the men's singles champion at the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships. He won a bronze medal in the men's singles event at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, becoming the third Malaysian men's singles player to win a medal at the Olympic Games after

Rashid Sidek Abdul Rashid Mohd Sidek (born 8 July 1968) is a Malaysian former badminton player and coach. Personal life He is the youngest of the famous five Sidek brothers. Rashid and his siblings gained exposure to badminton from their father, Mohd ...

and Lee Chong Wei.

Early life

Lee was born in

Alor Setar Alor Setar ( Kedah Malay: ) is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. It is the second-largest city in the state after Sungai Petani and one of the most-important cities on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is home to the third-tallest ...

, Kedah to

Malaysian Chinese Malaysian Chinese, Chinese Malaysians, or Sino-Malaysians are Malaysians, Malaysian citizens of Chinese people, Chinese ethnicity. They form the second-largest ethnic group in Malaysia, after the Malaysian Malays, Malay majority, and , const ...

parents, Lee Chee Hin and Leow Siet Peng, whom are both school teachers and former basketball internationals. He was first introduced to badminton by his parents at the age of 6. In his earlier years, he studied at Keat Hwa Primary School in Alor Setar, Kedah. Due to his results in the under 12 competition, he was soon drafted into the Bukit Jalil Sports School.

Career

2015

In 2015, he became the junior champion in the Perak and Selangor Badminton Open. These standout performances and wins in the international circuit earned him a place in the Badminton Association of Malaysia.

2016

In November 2016, Lee won a bronze medal in the World Junior Championships after losing to Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the semifinals. In the same month, he advanced to the final of India International Series but was defeated by

Lakshya Sen Lakshya Sen (born 16 August 2001) is an Indian badminton player. He's a former World Junior No. 1. Sen is a bronze medalist at the World Championships, a gold medalist at the Thomas Cup, a silver medalist at the Asian Games and a gold and si ...

2017

In February 2017, Lee reached the semifinals of the

Thailand Masters The Thailand Masters was a professional snooker tournament. Previously known as Asian Open and Thailand Open, it was a Snooker world rankings, ranking tournament from 1989/90 to 2001/02. An event called the ''Thailand Masters'' also formed part o ...

, where he lost to Kantaphon Wangcharoen. In September 2017, he won his first senior title at the Polish International Series, against Soong Joo Ven in the final. In November 2017, Lee reached the semifinals of the Bitburger Open.

2018

In October 2018, Lee reached the final of the Chinese Taipei Open by defeating the World No. 4 men's singles player, Chou Tien-chen in the semifinals. He defeated Riichi Takeshita in the final to win his first BWF World Tour title and second international title overall. In doing so, he became the second Malaysian other than Lee Chong Wei to win a BWF top flight men's singles title since 2013. Lee then reached the final of the Korea Masters but lost to Son Wan-ho.

2019

Lee started the 2019 season by competing in the

. He lost in the quarter-finals to

Brice Leverdez Brice Leverdez (born 9 April 1986) is a French badminton player. He was a champion at the Badminton at the 2013 Mediterranean Games, 2013 Mediterranean Games, won a silver medal at the Badminton at the 2019 European Games – Men's singles, 2015 ...

of France in straight games. In the next tournaments, he also finished in the quarter-finals in Malaysia Masters, Indonesia Masters, and German Open. He later lost in the early stage of

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, and Singapore Open's. In August, Lee finally managed to make it into the semi-finals in the Thailand Open, where he lost to Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan. This was nonetheless an improvement to his being a quarter finalist in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and Indonesia Open's. He qualified to compete in

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in Basel, Switzerland, but lost to the World No. 1 men's singles player and the eventual World Champion,

Kento Momota is a former Japanese badminton player. He has won several major badminton tournaments including becoming a two time World Champion, becoming a two time Asian Champion, and winning one All England title. Momota received a Guinness World Reco ...

of Japan in the quarter-finals. In November, he was forced to retire in the second round of the China Open, and decided to withdraw as well from the next tournament in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, due suffering from food poisoning and fever. Lee reached world No. 11 in the BWF World ranking on 12 November. In December, he won the men's singles gold medal at the

SEA Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with su ...

, and also helped the national men's team win the silver medal.

2020: Break into top 10 world ranking

Lee opened the season by participating in Southeast Asian tours in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, and

, with his best result being a semi-finalist in Malaysia, where he lost to

in straight games. In February, he was part of the Malaysia men's team, who won the silver medal at the Asia Team Championships, which he was the national team captain. He won 4 out of 5 matches in the Asia Team Championships, losing the final to

Anthony Sinisuka Ginting Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (; born 20 October 1996) is an Indonesian badminton player. He first rose to senior prominence when he won the bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games, having won a 2014 Youth Olympic bronze in 2014. At the 2020 Olympics, ...

. Later in March, due to the outbreak of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in Europe, the German Open was cancelled. Lee's next tournament was the All England Open, which was also his debut at the tournament because his ranking was previously too low to qualify. He won against Jonatan Christie, who had won in four previous matches. He continued this win streak against Lu Guangzu and the then-Olympic champion Chen Long. In the semi-finals, he lost to

Viktor Axelsen Viktor Axelsen (born 4 January 1994) is a Danish badminton player. He is a two-time Badminton at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Champion, two-time BWF World Championships, World Champion, and four-time European Badminton Championships, European Cha ...

. The match lasted for 73 minutes. Further, Lee's performance at the All England Open raised his world ranking to No. 10 on 17 March 2020.

2021: All England Open title, Olympic debut

In March, Lee won his first Super 1000 tournament at the All England Open, defeating the defending champion

by a score of 30–29, 20–22, 21–9. In July, in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Lee took part in the men's singles and won against Artem Pochtarov with a score of 21–5 and 21–11. In the subsequent match against

, he won with a score of 21–17 and 21–5. Lee was eliminated in the round of 16, where he was defeated by Chen Long with a score of 21–8, 19–21, and 5–21. In November, Lee reached the final of Hylo Open, however Lee had to retire due to the injuries he sustained while playing against Singapore's Loh Kean Yew with a score of 21–19, 13–21, 12–17. Lee ended the year at the 2021 World Championships in Huelva, where he retired from his quarterfinal match against eventual bronze medalist,

Anders Antonsen Anders Antonsen (born 27 April 1997) is a Danish badminton player. He is a three-time World Championships medalist, two-time European Champion, and he has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the men’s singles discipline of BWF World Ranking. He ...

2022: Subsequent ban, Asian champion

In January, there were speculation that Lee intended to leave the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), citing unhappiness with the association's demands and wanting more freedom as a player. He eventually resigned on 19 January 2022. In response, Lee was banned for two years from participating in any international tournaments that required BAM's approval as well as any

Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation, aka BWF, is the international governing body for the sport of badminton approved by the International Olympic Committee. It was founded on 5 July 1934 as the International Badminton Federation with nine member ...

(BWF)–sanctioned tournaments. With fellow players and the general public expressing dissatisfaction on BAM's decision, Lee appealed against the ban on 24 January 2022. The ban was lifted after Lee and BAM met on 25 January 2022, with the terms yet to be revealed. In May, Lee won his first title of the year, the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships, defeating Indonesia's Jonatan Christie 21–17, 23–21 in straight sets. Lee became the sixth Malaysian men's singles player to win the Asian Championships title. On 22 May 2022, Lee won his first BWF World Tour Super 500 title at the 2022 Thailand Open, defeating China's Li Shifeng with a rubber set score of 17–21, 21–11, 23–21 in 70 minutes. In June, Lee participated in 3 events: the Indonesia Masters, the Indonesia Open and the Malaysia Open, his home event. At the Indonesia Masters, Lee, the 5th seed, lost to the 4th seeded

in the quarter-finals in three games, 21–18, 15–21, 16–21. A week later, Lee lost to

, the World No. 1 at the Indonesia Open semi-finals, with a score of 21–19, 11–21, 21–23 in 70 minutes. In late June, Lee took part in the Malaysia Open as the 5th seed. He surprisingly lost to Indonesia's Shesar Hiren Rhustavito in the Round of 16 in three games, 19–21, 21–19, 16–21 in an hour and six minutes. Claiming injury, he decided to skip the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

and focus on the upcoming World Championships which would be held in August. As the fifth seed in

, he lost to China's shuttler Zhao Junpeng in the third round in three games, with a match score of 19–21, 21–11, 19–21. The match lasted for an hour and five minutes. A week later, Lee lost to

Srikanth Kidambi Srikanth Kidambi (born 7 February 1993) is an Indian badminton player. Known for his powerful smashes and quick footwork, he became the first Indian male to reach the World No. 1 ranking in the BWF World Rankings in April 2018. He made history ...

, the former World No. 1 at the first round of Japan Open, with a score of 20–22, 21–23 in 38 minutes. In October, Lee defeated former World Champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, with a score of 21–18, 21–15 in 40 minutes and reached the Denmark Open final before losing to

Shi Yuqi Shi Yuqi (; Mandarin pronunciation: ; born 28 February 1996) is a Chinese badminton player.Shi won his first Superseries title in the 2016 French Open. At the 2017 All England Open, he defeated 6-time champion Lin Dan to reach the final, and r ...

from China, with a score of 18–21, 21–16, 12–21 in 64 minutes. A few days later, Lee as 3rd seed in

French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...

, was surprised with another defeat at the first round, with a score of 18–21, 19–21 to the same opponent, Shesar Hiren Rhustavito from Indonesia that defeated him back in Malaysia Open earlier in June. Australia Open was Lee's last hope of securing a final spot in the World Tour Finals. However, things did not go his way as one of his hands suffered a minor injury during the third game. He lost to Lu Guangzu from China in 70 minutes with a scoreline of 22–20, 15–21, 16–21, thus ending Lee's hopes to enter the World Tour Finals as Lu claimed the final spot. In November, Lee decided to part ways with his coach Indra Wijaya, citing that he seeks to try 'something new' by foregoing a coach.

2023: Slump, second Sudirman bronze, road to resurgence

Lee opened the 2023 season on his home ground, the Malaysia Open, but was defeated in the first round by the Japanese new rising player Kodai Naraoka. The following week, he reached the second round of the India Open, but was defeated by Chinese player Li Shifeng. He competed in the Indonesia Masters but lost in the second round to Hong Kong player

Ng Ka Long Angus Ng Ka Long (born 24 June 1994) is a Hong Kong badminton player. He has a career-high ranking of 6th in the men's singles discipline. He won the 2016 Hong Kong Super Series, the 2020 Thailand Masters and the 2023 German Open. Early l ...

. Lee was called up to captain the Malaysian squad for the 2023 Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships. In the round robin stage, he won against Bharath Lateesh of the United Arab Emirates and lost against Prannoy H. S. of India. He won against Lei Lanxi of China in the knockout stage. Lee was featured on digital billboard in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

as part of badminton brand, Victor's 55th anniversary on 9 March. Apart from Lee, other international badminton players such as Tai Tzu-ying,

, Apriyani Rahayu, Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan, were also on display. This makes Lee the first Malaysian badminton player to be featured on a Times Square billboard. He competed in the German Open but lost in the second round to Chinese Taipei player Lee Chia-hao. On 26 April, Lee competed in the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships. He lost to Ng Ka Long in the first round with a score of 19–21, 16–21 in straight sets in 39 minutes and failed to defend his Asian Championships title. In May, Lee represented Malaysia in the 2023 Sudirman Cup. He gain a 5 win streak against Ricky Tang,

, Chou Tien-chen,

who retired in the quarterfinals, and Jeon Hyeok-jin. In the semifinals, Lee won against Korea in the men's single, but the Malaysia team lost to Korea with a 1–3 score and ended the tournament with a bronze medal. On 23 May, Lee announced on social media that he has enlisted Wong Tat Meng, previously the singles' head coach in Hong Kong, as his new coach. In the home event 2023 Malaysia Masters, Lee defeated Lu Guangzu of China in straight games in the first round but was defeated by Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei in rubber games in the second round. In June, Lee competed in the 2023 Singapore Open. He lost in the first round to Chinese player Weng Hongyang with a score of 20–22, 21–16, 19–21 in 64 minutes. Lee also competed in the 2023 Indonesia Open. He again lost in the first round to Indian player

with a score of 17–21, 13–21 in straight games in only 33 minutes. In response to his string of early exits in 2023 and dropping out of the top 10, he stated in a BWF interview that he considered taking a break from badminton tournaments. In October, Lee joined Malaysia's squad at the 2022 Asian Games. He lost against Jeon Hyeok-jin at the men's team event, in which Malaysia conceded a 1–3 defeat against Korea. Lee fared better at the

individual events Individual events in speech include public speaking, limited preparation, acting and interpretation are a part of forensics competitions. These events do not include the several different forms of debate offered by many tournaments. These events ...

, where he ended his four-match losing streak against Ng Ka Long and upset world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the second round. His journey ended in the quarter-finals against the eventual bronze medalist, Prannoy H. S. After 17 months from his last title at the 2022 Thailand Open in May, Lee finally managed to overcome early exits in the 2023 BWF World Tour season and won his first title of the year at the 2023 Arctic Open, defeating fellow Malaysian

Ng Tze Yong Ng Tze Yong ( zh, t=黃智勇, p=Huáng Zhìyǒng; born 16 May 2000) is a Malaysian badminton player. Ng won a bronze medal at the 2021 Sudirman Cup. He also helped Malaysian team to win gold at the 2022 Badminton Asia Team Championships and ...

21–14, 21–15 in the final. He then entered his second consecutive final at the Denmark Open the following week. He was defeated by Weng Hongyang in straight sets, settling for second-best two years in a row.

2024: Bagging two titles, Olympic bronze medal

In the home event Malaysia Open, Lee suffered from yet another first round defeat after losing to Lu Guangzu of China with a score of 21–16, 19–21, 15–21. Lee reached the quarter-finals of the India Open where he was defeated by Kodai Naraoka of Japan with a score of 21–13, 9–21, 16–21. Lee again reached the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters where he retired against Brian Yang of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

due to

food poisoning Foodborne illness (also known as foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease), and toxins such ...

. In another first round defeat, Lee lost to Magnus Johannesen of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

with a score of 15–21, 19–21 in the

. In the 2024 All England Open, Lee as a former champion in 2021 did not regain the title after he only reached the quarter-finals where he narrowly lost to

of India with a score of 22–20, 16–21, 19–21. In the 2024 Swiss Open, Lee as top seed of the tournament crashed out in the second round to

16–21,15-21 after a foot injury. In the 2024 Badminton Asia Championships, Lee was defeated by Jonatan Christie in the quarter-finals 21–11, 21–6. Lee was crowned as champion at the 2024 Thailand Open after beating

in the final 21–11, 21–10. In the 2024 Malaysia Masters, Lee went into his second final in a row but lost to top seed of the tournament

6-21, 22–20, 13-21 due to a foot injury he sustained during the quarter-final against

. Lee conceded a walkover in the first round of the 2024 Singapore Open to

from an injury he sustained from the 2024 Malaysia Masters. In the 2024 Indonesia Open, Lee was eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing to Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand with a score of 16–21, 17–21. Lee proved 2024 to be his breakthrough year after he broke his record of winning only a title in a year by taking the second one in the 2024 Australia Open, defeating Kodai Naraoka of Japan in rubber set of a score of 21–19, 11–21 and 21–18 in final. At the

, Lee took bronze after winning against India's

. After losing 13-21 in the first game, Lee overcame a 5-point deficit to win 21-16 in the second game, and 21-11 in the decider to win the bronze medal match.

Awards and recognition

Awards

Order

* Kedah: ** Companion of the Ahli Cemerlang Semangat Jerai Kedah (ASK) (2021)

Achievements

Olympic Games

''Men's singles''

Asian Championships

''Men's singles''

SEA Games

''Men's singles''

BWF World Junior Championships

''Boys' singles''

BWF World Tour (6 titles, 5 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the

(BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100. ''Men's singles''

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 1 runner-up)

''Men's singles'' :

BWF International Challenge The BWF International Challenge is a grade 3 and level 1 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Series (level 2) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF International Series The BWF International Series is a grade 3 and level 2 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament

Performance timeline

National team

* ''Junior level'' * ''Senior level''

Individual competitions

* ''Junior level'' * ''Senior level''

Record against selected opponents

Record against selected opponents. Accurate as of 18 March 2025.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Zii Jia 1998 births Living people People from Alor Setar Badminton players from Kedah Malaysian sportspeople of Chinese descent Malaysian people of Hokkien descent Malaysian male badminton players Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players for Malaysia Olympic medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2018 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Malaysia Competitors at the 2017 SEA Games Competitors at the 2019 SEA Games SEA Games gold medalists for Malaysia SEA Games silver medalists for Malaysia SEA Games medalists in badminton Olympic bronze medalists for Malaysia