Lee Zii Jia is ready to lay down the gauntlet with hard work in training as soon as his 14-day quarantine period ends as the Malaysian men’s singles ace prepares for a grueling calendar post-Tokyo Olympics.

Lee’s maiden Olympics campaign ended in the last-16 after he lost to silver medalist Chen Long in three games, after impressing in the group stage.

The world number eight was appreciative of that experience as he acknowledged the road to retribution begins right now.

“If I were to rate my performance at the Olympics, honestly I am not satisfied. I could have done it better. What we can do is go back and train harder.

“I’m going back straight to training once my quarantine period is over. There’s no break. I cannot afford to have a holiday after being in quarantine for 14 days.

“After returning from training, there’s only a month to go before a full swing calendar of tournaments awaits us. There’s about seven back-to-back tournaments after this.

“Even if I was given a chance to take a break, I will not be in the mood. I want to get focused right away after this,” he said.

His coach Hendrawan said Lee’s biggest opponent at this stage would be himself.

“At this point, his progression curve is up and down. It will be the coaches’ duty to ensure that this curve does not get too big. If we can do this, he will mature faster as a player,” said Hendrawan.

The new calendar announced by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) is set to witness a grueling schedule, with 12 top-tier events including two major championships lined up after the Tokyo Olympics.

The headliner events include the Sudirman Cup (Sept 26-Oct 3), Thomas & Uber Cup (Oct 9-17), Denmark Open (Oct 19-24), French Open (Oct 26-31), Indonesia Masters (Nov 16-21), Indonesia Open (Nov 23-28), World Tour Finals (Dec 1-5) & World Championships (Dec 12-19).

A new world rankings cycle would also begin after the Tokyo Olympics.

(Photo: asiana.my)