Lee Zii Jia has given Malaysians something to cheer about amid these testing times after breaking into the top 10 of the world rankings.

The men’s singles shuttler shot up four rungs from 14th, thanks to his gallant run at the All-England Championships where he made the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Viktor Axelsen in a 73-minute thriller.

Despite being quarantined immediately upon returning to Malaysia on Monday, Lee was in great spirits at his dormitory at the Academy Badminton Malaysia.

Ikuti Pemain perseorangan no.1 negara Lee Zii Jia yang baru pulang dr kejohanan All England, & “life quarantin” zone nya di BAM. . #hapusCOVID19 #kekaltenang #perangicovid19 #keepselfdistances

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“I’m happy to have finally achieved this target which I had set last year. I will work harder to break into the top five after this,” said Lee, who is resigned to a 14-day lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I’m still jetlagged from my flight, so it’s about recovering at this point. But I have my racquet and shoes with me, so I can work out on my own.

“We have our temperatures taken in the morning, afternoon and night. Food is delivered to us by the National Sports Institute, and if we want to order in there is someone to pick it up for us,” added Lee, who was sharing a room with men’s doubles shuttler Soh Wooi Yik.

The Kedah-born star became only the third Malaysian men's singles to break into the top 10 in the last decade, following in the footsteps of Lee Chong Wei and Liew Daren.

Lee made the quarter-finals nine times last year, and ended 2019 with a bang by clinching the SEA Games gold medal.

This year, he already has two semi-final appearances to show for, having also made the last four of the Malaysia Masters in January.

The other shuttlers currently in the top bracket are men’s doubles duo Soh and Aaron Chia at ninth.