Malaysia is buzzing right now with the victory of our badminton team. One player in particular, the famous Lee Zii Jia (李梓嘉), has proven through hard work that he earned his place in the Olympic Games – also on the world’s Top 10 shuttlers.
Notable for his incredible comeback win against India’s Lakshya Sen, our Olympic champion brought back a bronze medal from that match. When he returned home, he was greeted with immense cheering and support from fellow Malaysians, who were proud and excited as they waited for the star athlete to arrive at KLIA International Airport. However, one Malaysian in particular had a different reaction to the badminton player’s win.
Former Malaysian radio DJ, Cheryl Lee (李欣怡), took to Instagram Threads to express her feelings about the athlete, particularly his victory pose after winning the match. “Did he plan this gesture in advance? If so, it’s quite busy,” she shared. Lee Zii Jia explained that the winning action he performed after the match was a tribute to his favourite football player and a reminder to himself to stay focused and let his actions speak for themselves, as he stated in a post-match interview.
Many Malaysians did not take her statement lightly and immediately began flooding the ex-DJ’s social media accounts, demanding that she issue an apology to the star athlete. However, the ex-DJ still hasn’t responded to the comments. Here a gist of what the netizens said:
- “You’re also going to cyberbully? Or bully people who have contributed to the country. Do you want to do it in advance? It’s busy!”
- “If you can’t let the national flag be raised at the Olympics, please shut your mouth.”
- “It’s very busy when you start thinking about it. So you’re a very acidic mouth, and it’s boring.”
Having haters only means you’re rising up in your career, and our star badminton player is definitely climbing up the ranks, literally. Amidst the hate, our Malaysian athlete has recently been ranked no. 6 in the entire world according to BWF.
His new rank is much-deserved reward for our hard-working athlete. We can’t wait for our badminton star to continue climbing up the ranks despite the hate and criticism he may receive.
Sources: Instagram, InstagramThreads, BWF
Jade Mary contributed to this article.
