Source:REUTERS/Edgar Su
[Saba Sports News] The 2024 China Badminton Open, part of the Super 1000 series, saw several upsets. Among them, Lee Zii Jia, the bronze medalist in men’s singles at the Paris Olympics, was eliminated by Japanese player Watanabe Koki, stopping at the round of 32. In the second game, Lee completely lost his rhythm, making errors in judgment and hitting the shuttlecock out of bounds, ultimately scoring only 2 points in that game, which raised suspicions of a lack of competitiveness and drew criticism from the public. Fans were even more dissatisfied when Lee attended a sponsor’s brand event the day after his loss. As the current world No. 3 in men’s singles, Lee’s performance since the Olympics has indeed been disappointing. However, his fans have not given up on him. Yesterday, Lee’s fan page Mssports I posted on Facebook with a photo of him at the sponsor event. The post mentioned: “Some criticize him for his shortcomings, while others see his strengths and support him despite his flaws.” The fan page also stated that it is commendable for Lee to adjust his mindset and attend the sponsor event shortly after such a poor match result, believing that he “will definitely make a strong comeback.”