LEE Chong Wei is confident an Olympic medal is already in hand for Lee Zii Jia in 2024 if he starts preparing now.
The former World No 1 said: "One thing we can learn from the Olympics is that they are full of surprises. The Olympics are unlike any other tournament, it's every athlete's dream.
"Who would have expected Japan's Kento Momota to be knocked out in the group stages? Who would have thought of Guatemala's Kevin Cordon reaching the semi-finals? Nobody.
"It's an open affair. Seeded players like Momota had to play under tremendous pressure while players like Gordon and South Korea's Heo Kwang Hee had nothing to lose. I know this feeling very well as a former Olympian myself.
"The Tokyo Olympics are a very good learning curve for Zii Jia. He is a very intelligent player but he lost out because of a lack of experience.
"By now, he should already know what to expect from the Olympics. He should roughly also have an idea of some of his possible future opponents.
"If he starts preparing for Paris from now, I am confident a medal is already in hand. What colour? He can decide for himself."
Chong Wei, a three-time Olympic silver medallist, also congratulated Denmark's Viktor Axelsen for prevailing over China's Chen Long in the men's singles final on Monday.
Chong Wei, who competed against the two shuttlers in 2016 Rio before retiring in 2019, added: "I take my hat off to both Axelsen and Chen Long for their perseverance in continuing to play top level badminton.
"Axelsen was near perfect in the final. I've never seen such aggression from him in both attack and defence. He truly deserved the gold medal.
"For Chen Long, he silenced his critics by reaching the final. Nobody gave him a chance because no one knew how good he was since he did not play competitively for more than a year.
"Three years from now, I see badminton being a very open tournament at the Olympics. Never write anyone off because anyone from any country can spring a surprise.
"Depending on their condition, I don't know if both Chen Long or Axelsen will play in Paris.
"But I'm sure Momota would want to try again. Indonesia have got their hopes on Anthony (Sinisuka) Ginting and Jonatan Christie, and I expect Kwang Hee to be there too.
"These are the players I foresee being the ones to beat at the 2024 Paris Olympics."