Zii Jia said he did not want to dwell on his 21-14, 21-15 defeat by reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in their semi-final match earlier today.

He is determined to be prepared for the bronze medal match against India’s Lakshya Sen, Bernama reported.

“He (Kunlavut) played a very good match and handled things inside the court very well with a lot of confidence,” Zii Jia said after the match at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena

“I have no choice but to accept this … But for me, (it’s) not the end of my campaign. I’ve still got one (more) match tomorrow, so there’s no time for me to think about anything (else). I just need to focus on tomorrow’s match.”

Kunlavut, ranked 8th in the world, will face world No 2 Viktor Axelsen in the final after the Dane defeated India’s Lakshya 22-20, 21-14 in the other semi-final match today.

Kunlavut created history by becoming the first Thai to be world singles champion last year. He said he was delighted at having made it to the final in his Olympic debut.

Victory tomorrow will make him the first Thai badminton player to win an Olympic medal.

He said he is taking a cautious approach to the championship decider and does not want to put too much pressure on himself, adding that he found it hard to train and compete well in tournaments after winning the world title.

“But in major tournaments like the Olympics, I want to give it 100%,” he said. “Unlike BWF World Tour events where you can try again next year, you need to wait four years for the next Olympics.”