KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Mei -- Pemain badminton perseorangan lelaki negara Lee Zii Jia ketika ditemu bual selepas bertemu Ketua Kontinjen (CDM) Malaysia ke Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024 Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin di Petaling Jaya malam ini. --fotoBERNAMA (2023) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA
PETALING JAYA: Lee Zii Jia (pic) cannot afford to take a long break from tournaments as he risks missing out on the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This is the view expressed by former great Datuk James Selvaraj following the independent men’s singles shuttler’s shock decision to take some time away from tournaments.
Zii Jia’s form in individual tournaments has been poor this year after only managing to clear the early rounds in two tournaments – the All-England and Swiss Open in March – where he reached the semi-finals.
The 25-year-old’s latest opening-round loss came in the ongoing Indonesian Open at the hands of India’s Lakshya Sen on Wednesday.
The defeat was clearly the last straw for Zii Jia, who has dropped to No. 11 in the latest world rankings.
He was ranked as high as No. 2 in the beginning of the year.
“I can understand where Zii Jia is coming from as he has not been performing well this year,” said James.
“But he can’t afford to take a long break as the Olympics qualification has started and his ranking has already been dropping.
“Other players will be fighting to take part in as many tournaments as possible to gain ranking points.
“If he takes a long break and then hopes to come back and try to gain points, he might be too late.”
The qualifying period had started last month and is set to end at the end of April next year.
Zii Jia needs to maintain his ranking in the top 16 to make the cut.
James, though, hoped that Zii Jia will return from his setback as a different player under the guidance of coach Wong Tat Meng, who will officially start in July.
“Zii Jia needs to build his confidence back. He can look forward to working with Tat Meng,” said James.
“Hopefully, Zii Jia can use this time to train well under Tat Meng and overcome some of his shortcomings.”
Zii Jia could next see action in the Korean Open from July 18-23.
Meanwhile, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abdul Halim reiterated that the ministry will stand by Zii Jia.
“Zii Jia remains one of our best hopes in the Olympics,” said Adam.
“He is going through a tough period but we will keep supporting him.”
On whether slipping out of the top 10 will affect Zii Jia’s position in the Road to Gold (RTG) programme, Adam said: “We will give him the time and space to bounce back.
“The RTG committee will have a meeting this coming Monday to discuss ways to help him.”
