"Unbelievable Badminton" – French Opponent Commends Lee Zii Jia For Olympic Match
"He made shots I have never seen before. I think he has a really good chance to make history for Malaysia," said Leverdez.
By May Vin Ang — 29 Jul 2021, 02:06 PM
French national athelete Brice Leverdez has praised Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia for the "unbelievable badminton" he played during their match at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Lee beat Leverdez in the Group M match with straight sets, 21-17, 21-5, on Wednesday evening, 28 July.
The 23-year-old world number eight wasted no time on court, finishing the game with Leverdez in 33 minutes.
After the match, Leverdez took to social media to commend Lee for his impressive performance
"Nothing else to say than well played, Lee Zi Jia. He played unbelievable badminton," wrote the world number 36.
"I have no regrets on how I played and how I tried but my opponent was too quick, too strong. He made shots I have never seen before. I think he has a really good chance to make history for Malaysia."
He added that his own dream of making history for France in men's badminton singles at the Olympics is over.
"Life is hard sometimes but I'm still proud of what I have done and all the effort I've put in to come here at 100%," he continued.
Leverdez's Facebook post has garnered over 33,000 likes, with many Malaysian fans complimenting him back for the good sportsmanship and sending him well wishes.
Lee will be advancing to the knockout stages as the winner of Group M
He will now face winner of Group N and defending champion sixth seed Chen Long from China in the Round of 16.
Their match is scheduled to begin at 6.15pm today, 29 July.
