Lee Zii Jia admitted pressure was the last thing on his mind after he delivered the winning point against England for a 3-2 success in the Thomas Cup opening match on Saturday.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really under pressure on court. It was more excitement, being at 2-2 and thinking about what I needed to do. I didn't expect this, I thought it might be 4-1 or even 5-0 . I wasn’t expecting 2-2 in my first match.
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“I’m happy to get it done. We’ll be more wary in the next two matches. It’s a good warm-up for us,” Lee said.
The world number 82, playing for the first time as the third men’s singles, turned in a commanding performance to oust Nadeem Dalvi 21-13, 21-11.
Despite Dalvi’s low world number 233 ranking, the plucky 21-year-old produced moments of quality and Lee had to be on his toes throughout the match.
The positives for the former All-England champion is that he moved smoothly and confidently around the court, and found plenty of joy through his smashes.
That confidence will serve the 27-year-old well, as he prepares for the next match against Finland on Monday.
Lee will most likely be fielded as the third singles ahead of Aidil Sholeh, who was disappointing in his straight game defeat against a much lower ranked English opponent.
Image: Shahir Othman
