Zii Jia won the Asian Championship title in the men's singles in Manila last year, along with a gold at the Asia Team Championships in Selangor.

The world's fourth-ranked badminton player met with the Malaysia Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh as he mentioned his dream of becoming an Olympic champion.

Zii Jia is listed among the 15 athletes under the "Road to Gold" (RTG), which consists of Malaysians who are favoured by the Ministry to win a gold medal.

"Lee Zii Jia told me he really wants that first gold medal in Paris 2024 for the country," said Yeoh, according to the Sun Daily.

"It was a positive meeting.

"This is what I want to hear from our athletes, it starts with the desire for gold."

Stuart Ramalingam, the RTG coordinator, will meet with Zii Jia's agent to discuss the badminton players commitment to the RTG.

The programme will include coaching and sparring coordination.

Along with Zii Jia, there are five badminton pairs that are a part of the programme, including men's doubles world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing, Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai Jemie and Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi.

The closest Malaysian to winning a gold medal was Datuk Lee Ching Wei, who finished second in the men's singles at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.