KUALA LUMPUR – National men’s singles professional Lee Zii Jia made a bold decision not to train with other players at Akademi Badminton Malaysia in preparation for the upcoming Thomas Cup to be held in Chengdu, China, on April 28.
Instead, the world number 11 chose to continue training alone with his team, Team LZJ, under the guidance of his coach, Wong Tat Meng.
This was announced by Team LZJ through an official statement issued today.
Earlier, Zii Jia was understood to have just arrived in Malaysia yesterday after competing in the Badminton Asia Championships held in Ningbo, China.
He managed to advance to the quarter-finals before being shown the exit by Indonesian champion Jonatan Christie.
“After returning to Malaysia on Sunday, April 14, from the recently concluded Badminton Asia Championships, Lee Zii Jia has started his preparations for the upcoming Thomas Cup campaign on Monday.
“The training programme and arrangements planned by Team LZJ’s coaching director, Wong Tat Meng, will prepare Zii Jia to perform to the best of his abilities during the Thomas Cup, as well as to sustain it during the five tournaments that follow.
“This training programme, which is independent of the Thomas Cup team, has been discussed with the Badminton Association of Malaysia and is supported by BAM’s coaching director Rexy Mainaky and head of administration Michelle Chai.
“We thank BAM, Rexy, and Michelle for their understanding and trust in us to manage the training plan during this hectic tournament schedule leading up to the Paris Olympics,” said Team LZJ.
Zii Jia will only rejoin the national team when they depart for Chengdu on April 24. – April 16, 2024