KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia admitted that he was disappointed by his own expectations.
On Tuesday, the world No. 10 fought hard and nearly staged a superb comeback, but it was not enough to subdue Denmark's world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen, in Malaysia's final Group D tie of the Thomas Cup in Chengdu.
The Dane, who has only lost three times to Zii Jia in eight prior meetings, won the match 21-16, 24-22.
In his post-match interview with SpoTV, Zii Jia said he had expected more.
"It wasn't my best performance, but we know that Axelsen is a top player, and it's very difficult to play him, let alone defeat him.
"My expectations were high, especially on myself to do more. So I'm not entirely satisfied with my performance," said Zii Jia.
The Kedah-born also pointed out that he needs to work harder to beat a player of Axelsen's standard and stature.
"I used this match to gauge where I stood in terms of standard, and it's obvious that I still have much to improve on.
"Axelsen's focus and experience made the difference today," added Zii Jia.
For the record, Malaysia and Denmark have already qualified for the Thomas Cup quarter-finals. A new draw will be conducted after the conclusion of the group ties on Wednesday.
