Lee Zii Jia

Discussion in 'Malaysia Professional Players' started by undeadshot, Oct 7, 2018.

  1. pajrul

    pajrul Regular Member

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    I eat back my words LJZ... proved me wrong. I am happy. No matter what the outcome of this All England edition, today's win is a substantial victory in its own right
     
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  2. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    a confidence booster for sure.
     
  3. keithl

    keithl Regular Member

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    As expected, he cleared the semifinals, either way in the finals, his is going to get paid handsomely Congrats and all the best in the finals! I believe he can beat either of the Danes.
     
  4. keithl

    keithl Regular Member

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    Congrats LZJ on the first super series 1000 championship title in the All England 2021! A champion in his own right. Wish you many more titles and the winning the elusive Olympic Gold!
     
  5. whatAHassle

    whatAHassle Regular Member

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    Congratulations to you LZJ.
    It is always a pleasure to see someone you believed in, blossom.
    Best of luck on your journey.
     
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  6. CIA-99

    CIA-99 Regular Member

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    Congratulations, Lee Zii Jia. Have always been your supporter since 2016. I am just so happy for him!
     
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  7. Nine Tailed Fox

    Nine Tailed Fox Regular Member

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    Firmly the number one candidate to win Tokyo Olympics in my book. Can only improve upon his game going forward.

    Always had a fascinating attack, now combines an excellent net play with it to produce unstoppable badminton.

    Chen Long will be his biggest threat at the Olympics. He will be at his very best, my intuition tells this.

    Anyway, I will rather see an all out attack claiming the Olympic Gold.

    Congratulations for the rich victory, Mr Zia!
     
  8. Sumanth99

    Sumanth99 Regular Member

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    Great defense, + fitness of his life. His defense looks very subtle and laid back yet very effective.
     
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  9. ngkt67

    ngkt67 Regular Member

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    the current top 10 BWF World Ranking players that LZJ (currently world ranking number 10) has played with (updated):

    H2H Win-Lose
    Kento Momota (No.1) H2H 1-6
    Viktor Axelsen (No.2) H2H 2-3
    Anders Antonsen (No.3) H2H 1-2
    Chou Tien Chen (No.4) H2H 2-5
    Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (No.5) H2H 0-3
    Chen Long (No.6) H2H 2-2
    Jonatan Christie (No.7) H2H 1-4
    Angus Ng Ka Long (No.8) H2H 1-1
    Wang Tzu Wei (No.9) H2H 0-0
    Shi Yuqi (No.11) H2H 1-2

    as the result, LZJ not yet beaten Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and not yet meet Wang Tzu Wei before
     
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  10. Nine Tailed Fox

    Nine Tailed Fox Regular Member

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    His cross court smash from around the head position is the most lethal weapon out there in the MS game. Only Ginting's straight smash from the FH side comes close.

    Would be curious to see If Zia can develop his FH DTL Smash to the same degree of excellence.
     
  11. LenaicM

    LenaicM Regular Member

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    I'll add a change in his attitude. He looked more determined and may be, just may be, he started to believe in himself. Let's not forget he is still rather young and inexperienced and he has to fill the shoes of a badminton legend in his country.

    I think his biggest enemy will be himself as he will have to constantly juggle with the pressure and expectations of his country. Just look at the comments already (not just here), some fans already want him to grab the gold in Tokyo. He just won the AE...
     
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  12. extremenanopowe

    extremenanopowe Regular Member

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    Well done lzj. Og and world champ next. ;)
     
  13. baddiechan

    baddiechan Regular Member

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    LZJ challenging at the net and following up weak return against Axelsen reminded me of LD tactics against LCW. Also he showed great patience to set up the opportunities for the attack after rallies when he couldn't force a net. If he keeps up this form then it'll be hard for anyone to match him at the moment.
     
  14. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    He’s still young compared to me :) but he needs to step up now. IIRC he’s 23. He should be getting to semifinals on a regular basis.

    His smash is wonderful.
     
  15. Hbmao

    Hbmao Regular Member

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    Higher ranking will help (I know 2021 AE doesn’t count but he has been on the rise). Being ranked in top 8, making sure to reach quarterfinals, then taking advantage of opportunities here and there...
     
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  16. CLELY

    CLELY Regular Member

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    Chen Long? I'm very surprised if he could emulate his predecessor result, he's not Super Dan:D
    It's tough to gauge CHN players latest performance and how effective their relentless centralized training.
     
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  17. Nine Tailed Fox

    Nine Tailed Fox Regular Member

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    He is looking great CLELY. Won the Chinese National Tournament in the fall of 2020 and looking supremely sharp.

    See yourself

     
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  18. Justin L

    Justin L Regular Member

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    Great job, Lee Zijia. Way to go!

    By beating Viktor in a close first two sets with one game apiece followed by a runaway victory in the decider proved his toppling of the world no.1 Momota was no fluke.

    Watching the replay of the semifinal and final against Momota and Axelsen respectively impressed upon me LZJ's resemblance to Chen Long's playing style, amazing retrieving ability to frustrate any opponent coupled with attacking and counterattacking prowess. The only thing I'm unsure of is LZJ's consistency going forward, not to mention at the young age of 23 his cumulative experience may still be somewhat short, especially so when Malaysian fans are known to place exceedingly high expectations on their top players who have just achieved an exceptional result on the world's stage to go on and deliver another sterling performance for national glory, namely the upcoming Tokyo OG just round the corner. As we know, most of them have the propensity to be unnerved by the excessive pressure when it matters most such as winning the most coveted titles whether individual or team championships.

    Well, we can only wait and see. He is definitely an exciting prospect and it couldn't have come at a better time for him and for Malaysia as a whole.
     
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  19. jctai

    jctai Regular Member

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    I would definitely hold my opinion on LZJ's "road to success".
    Our country is always too desperate for a hero, which is always detrimental to the growth of a strong & consistent squad.
    The Badminton Association of Malaysia had always put too much focus on one particular player or pair who has shown promise and totally forget about the rest of the squad.
    Regarding, LZJ's performance, kudos on his performance in AE. But it is disturbing to me that his performance has been a roller coaster since his win in Taiwan Open 2018. He seemed to have problem controlling his emotion, not lashing out in anger like Axelsen but more inwards type of frustration. He also paid too much attention to his critics online which spiked after his triple fumbles in Thailand, definitely not healthy. His coaching team need to spend more time to expand his perspective on the reality because the next time he fumbles a match, our netizens are sure to come out of the woodwork.
    On the subject of the match between Momota and him, coach Teh is upfront about them capitalizing on the fact that Momota has not recovered his match fitness. So I would not read too much into his win on Momota. It will mostly likely take Momota another 3-4 tournaments for him to regain his match fitness. So if Momota is set to win in OG'21, he had better rebound fast because LZJ already proven his ability to defeat him.
    The good thing about his win in AE is that men's singles matches are going to be so much more exciting in the future instead of the old LCW vs China.
     
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  20. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

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    Lee Zii Jia: 5 Things To Know About Malaysia’s New Badminton Star
    Lee Zii Jia: 5 Things To Know About Malaysia’s New Badminton Star | Tatler Malaysia (asiatatler.com)

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    Photo: Adrian Dennis / AFP

    By Lainey Loh
    March 23, 2021

    The 23-year-old Kedah-born shuttler Lee Zii Jia scored the highly coveted All England crown over the weekend, raising Malaysia’s name on the global stage and thrilling Malaysians everywhere

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    On March 21, Lee Zii Jia made a stunning All England Open Badminton Championships win after a nail-biting showdown in a tight, 74-minute battle at the Arena Birmingham with current world number two and defending champion Viktor Axelsen from Denmark.

    The outstanding victory put him in the same league as other Malaysian greats such as Wong Peng Soon, Eddie Choong, Tan Aik Huang, Hafiz Hashim, and Lee Chong Wei, and made him an internet sensation overnight—and rightfully so, as he's the first Malaysian to win the prestigious badminton title in four years.

    Here are five things you should know about Malaysia’s new smashing superstar:

    1/5 Sports in his blood
    Lee was born in Alor Setar, Kedah to Lee Chee Hin and Leow Siet Peng, teachers and former national basketball players. In fact, his mother represented Malaysia in basketball in the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore while his father was the best national young player at the age of 16. Both parents are currently coaching basketball at SMJK Keat Hwa in Alor Setar.

    Lee said he could've gone on to be a basketball player, but he didn't. "I seemed to excel in badminton more than basketball, and I went in that direction," he revealed.

    2/5 He started young
    “When I was six years old, my dad brought me to a badminton club in Kedah. I started playing just for health reasons before improving better and better,” he wrote in his BWF profile. Due to his extraordinary talent and results in the under 12 competition, he was soon drafted into the Bukit Jalil Sports School.

    Lee later turned pro at only 13 years old and in 2015, he became the junior champion in the Perak and Selangor Badminton Open, earning him a place in the Badminton Association of Malaysia.

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    3/5 Medals to show for
    He may be young, but he already boasts an impressive medal haul. In November 2016, Lee bagged a bronze medal in the World Junior Championships for boys' singles and silver for the mixed team category.

    This was followed by a silver for the men's team category at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, a bronze for the men's team category at the 2018 Badminton Asia Team Championships, a gold and a silver at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games for the men's single and the men's team categories respectively, and a silver for the men's team category at the 2020 Badminton Asia Team Championships.

    Of course, his latest win being the All England Open Badminton Championships.

    4/5 En route to the top
    Although the 23-year-old is not yet on par with Malaysia’s badminton great Datuk Lee Chong Wei, who retired in 2019, he certainly has potential. For the uninitiated, the older Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from August 21, 2008 to June 14, 2012, and has won 69 titles during his career.

    Currently ranked world number 10, Lee is the highest-seeded men's singles player in Malaysia since his senior retired in 2019. He also conquered the All England five years earlier than his predecessor when the latter won in 2010.

    Despite being often compared to his senior, Lee just wants to be his own man and forge a name for himself. "I just want to be myself and concentrate on what needs to be done,” he said.

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    5/5 Next stop: Olympics
    Like many others, Lee is driven by the Olympic dream. In fact, his biggest sporting ambition is to be an Olympic champion.

    Lee Chong Wei has tipped the young shuttler to shine on his Olympic debut. “If Lee Zii Jia can repeat his All England form, he is definitely a medal contender at the Tokyo Olympics,” the three-time Olympic silver medallist said.

    After all, he did defy the odds and defeated reigning Olympic champion Chen Long of China to reach the All England 2020 semi-finals.
     
    #100 Loh, Mar 23, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2021

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