PARIS: The national badminton camp marked the end of their 2024 Paris Olympic campaign today with a second bronze medal.
On Day 10 of the Olympics yesterday, national men’s singles professional shuttler Lee Zii Jia bounced back from a game down to defeat India’s Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-16, 21-11 in the bronze medal playoff.
Zii Jia, who came to Paris dreaming of striking gold, has vowed to return stronger to challenge for the glitter of gold at Los Angeles 2028 (LA28).
On Sunday (Aug 4), men’s doubles aces Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik delivered the first medal for Malaysia at Paris 2024 when they clawed their way back from the brink of defeat to overcome Danes Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 16-21, 22-20, 21-19 in the bronze medal playoff.
Meanwhile, over at the Marseille Marina, about 750 kilometres (km) from here, national sailors Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy and Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif failed to finish in the top 10 and, thus, are out of Tuesday’s medal race.
Veteran sailor Khairulnizam ended his fourth Olympic outing in 32nd position with 168 net points in the men’s single-handed dinghy ILCA 7 event after Race 9 and Race 10 were cancelled.
Nur Shazrin, meanwhile, finished in 35th spot (215 net points) from nine races in the women’s single-handed dinghy ILCA 6 event, with Race 10 cancelled.
No Malaysian will be in action on Tuesday (Aug 6) but they will resume their medal quest on Wednesday (Aug 7).
Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, the Tokyo 2020 men’s keirin silver medallist, and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom will feature in the sprint event from Wednesday to Friday (Aug 7-9) while Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri, who is making her Olympic debut, will compete in the women’s keirin event on Wednesday and Thursday (Aug 7-8).
Nurul Izzah Izzati will then be involved in the women’s sprint event from Friday to Sunday (Aug 9-11) while Azizulhasni and Muhammad Shah Firdaus will compete in their pet event, the men’s keirin, on Saturday and Sunday (Aug 10-11).
Over at the diving pool, Nur Dhabitah Sabri will take part in the preliminary rounds of the women’s 3-metre (m) springboard event on Wednesday (Aug 7) while Bertrand Rhodict Lises will feature in the men’s 10m platform event on Friday (Aug 9).
Also on Wednesday (Aug 7), national weightlifter Mohamad Aniq Kasdan will get his campaign going in the men’s 61-kilogramme (kg) category while golfer Ashley Lau will tee off in the four-day women’s individual event. – BERNAMA
