Use All England win to aim for more success, PM advises Zii Jia

Muhyiddin, in congratulating Zii Jia on his maiden All England title, advised the 22-year-old player from Kedah to use the win as a catalyst to work harder and achieve more success as he had many more years to go in his badminton career.

“Well done Lee Zii Jia! You are a national hero. Congratulations to BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) and the coaching staff as well for this success.

“I am very sure all Malaysians, especially badminton fans, are thrilled with our national singles player Lee Zii Jia’s victory in the All England Badminton Championships earlier,” he said in a posting on his Facebook page last night.

Zii Jia won the men’s singles title with a pulsating 30-29, 20-22, 21-9 win over Viktor Axelsen of Denmark at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.

Muhyiddin said Zii Jia’s win would motivate the young player further, especially since he had lost to the same opponent in the semifinals of the prestigious tournament last year.

This is only Zii Jia’s second win over Axelsen in the five times they have played each other.

Zii Jia is the first Malaysian shuttler to emerge champion in the world’s oldest badminton tournament since 2017, when Datuk Lee Chong Wei overpowered Shi Yu Qi of China 21-12, 21-10.

As champion, he takes home US$59,500 (RM244,344).

The Alor Setar lad also ended his own nearly three-year title drought, having won the Chinese Taipei Open in 2018 when he beat Riichi Takeshita of Japan, 21-17, 16-21, 21-11.