Lee Chong Wei offers advice to struggling compatriot Lee Zii Jia
After Lee Zii Jia suffered another early tournament exit, the former world number one says he wants to see his fellow Malaysian succeed and "forget about all the past early round defeats and start from scratch again".
Badminton
Malaysian badminton great Lee Chong Wei knows exactly how hard it is to stay in top form.
During his 19-year career he endured crushing defeats, lingering injuries and even battled cancer to become one of his nation’s best competitors on the global stage.
The three-time Olympic silver medallist and World Championship runner-up, who retired in 2019, has been keenly following compatriot Lee Zii Jia who crashed out of the 2023 Indonesia Masters second round on Thursday (26 January).
Since winning the Asian title and the Thailand Open last May, Lee Zii Jia has reached just one final and failed to make it past the round of 16 on no fewer than six occasions.
This latest early elimination has given the former world number one cause for concern.
“I know Zii Jia is experiencing a difficult time right now, but he has my support all the way,” Chong Wei told Malaysia's Star, adding, “I’ve been there... it can be lonely and one can easily lose focus."
Chong Wei on Zii Jia playing coach-less
Zii Jia was seeded second for the Indonesia Masters where he went out to Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, China in three games.
That continued his poor start to 2023 having suffered a first-round exit at the Malaysia Open and defeat in the second round of the India Open.
The 24-year-old is without a coach having parted ways with Indra Wijaya last November, and relies on advice from former top-10 ranked player Liew Daren.
It's a situation which Chong Wei finds troubling.
“I’ve no idea what has transpired between him and his former coach, but he has to settle all the outside distractions that can affect his form on court first. I just hope he will not lose the interest to play,” he said.
“I’ve trained under many coaches. The national body will choose the coaches and the players will follow whatever these coaches bring in. If I feel like I need extra training or a change in the programme, I will discuss with the coach."
And he offered a note of caution to the former world number two who has dropped to world number four and also slumped to 19th in the World Tour rankings.
"I agree that players do most of the work in training, but one can’t go on without a coach. Even top stars in tennis have coaches... and it’s the same with all the sports.
“Coaches can be good motivators too, and they are able to analyse matches.”
In response to whether he had considered coaching Zii Jia, he jokingly answered, "For now, all I can do is to motivate him to achieve greatness. He can.
“I want to see Zii Jia do well and so do all the other former players. We want what is best for him and to see him make the country proud."
“I want to encourage him to forget about all the past early round defeats and start from scratch again, especially with the Olympics qualifying season around the corner.”- Lee Chong Wei to The Star.