Familiar place: Wong Tat Meng prepping the shuttlecocks as Lee Zii Jia trains with Liew Daren.
PETALING JAYA: It took Wong Tat Meng three restless nights to decide on taking up the challenging task as national No. 1 Lee Zii Jia’s coach.
But the 55-year-old Tat Meng, who was looking quite calm and composed and spotted with his grey hair at the training ground yesterday, believes Zii Jia is worth it.
“I was settled in Hong Kong and was enjoying myself as a coach there but when the offer came, I spent three nights thinking about it,” said Tat Meng.
“Zii Jia has the potential and to me, this is a national duty. And besides, I’ve been away from Malaysia for seven years and this is the best opportunity to come back and serve the nation.”
He however, knows that it will take time to restore world No. 14 Zii Jia’s confidence.
“I’ve spent some time speaking to Zii Jia. He won the All-England in his 20s and found it hard to cope with the expectations of others and himself too after that,” he said.
“With the high ranking (No. 2 at one point), everyone expected him to deliver but he was inconsistent. It’s not only Zii Jia’s problem but many other players face the same issue too.
“Zii Jia has to learn that everything comes in a package. With attention comes pressure, and he has to learn to handle them.
“Many believe Zii Jia has the ability and skills but he too has to start believing in himself.”
And the process of rebuilding himself will start will the Korean Open from July 18-21 in Yeosu. He will also compete in the Japan Open (July 25-30) and the Australian Open (Aug 1-6).
“I have not really seen Zii Jia play in tournaments and South Korea, Japan and Australia Opens should give me the chance to witness his performance (from the coach’s bench),” he said.
“This will give me the input and idea of coming up with a training programme for him.”
The Korean Open will be interesting as Tat Meng will prepare Zii Jia to face his former player Angus Ng Ka Long in the first round while former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) singles coaching director Wong Choong Hann will be guiding Ka Long in his first role as Hong Kong singles coach.
Choong Hann starts his duty next week.
Tat Meng said the draw was always unpredictable but Zii Jia should treat every opponent equally and always be fully equipped with the fitness and skills.
“The draw is something that is very funny (tricky) and we can’t control it. If Zii Jia wants to be successful on the international stage, he must be prepared to face the Hong Kong players or anyone from other country,” said Tat Meng.
“Ka Long has beaten Zii Jia a couple of times and this is going to be tight contest.”
The Japan Open will also present Zii Jia with a tricky encounter against home player Kenta Nishimoto in the first round.
However, Zii Jia has a 5-0 record against Nishimoto and the Malaysian should be more confident with the presence of Tat Meng for guidance.
