Fresh off a personal successful campaign at the just concluded Thomas Cup, Lee Zii Jia prepares to head to the next week’s Thailand Open.

Stadium Astro highlights three reasons for him to feel extra motivated as he prepares to tackle this Super 500 event.

Reputation as a 2-time champion

Of the six titles he was won on the World Tour, two of it have come from the Thailand Open.

Lee first won back in 2022 when he defeated China’s Li Shi Feng, before he easily overcame Hong Kong’s Angus Ng two years later.

This time around, the 28-year-old finds himself having to start from the qualifying rounds where he faces an Indian opponent.

But the feel-good factor from having triumphed twice should be enough for him to embark on another good run here.

Huge jump on the world rankings

Lee collected significant ranking points from his Thomas Cup outing after winning his matches against England, Finland and Japan.

As a result, he has now climbed up the world rankings from 82 to 67.

He is still some way off from securing an automatic entry into the main draw or qualifying for Super 750 or Super 1000 events, but he is now aware of his capability if he can stay injury-free and maintain a consistent performance.

An open invite to train at BAM

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have officially opened their doors for Lee to train with the national team.

This invite is pending the BAM council approval, but it is expected to get approved as this arrangement benefits both Lee and the national shuttlers.

Granted access back to the Academy Badminton Malaysia where he is guaranteed quality training sessions and usage of world class facilities is sure to give Lee even more motivation to perform in Bangkok next week.