Lee Zii Jia coach Indra Wijaya splits with badminton world number two
Malaysia's Lee missed out on a spot at the season-ending 2022 BWF World Tour Finals, and has now decided to leave his Indonesian coach.
Badminton
Badminton world number two Lee Zii Jia is going it solo.
The 24-year-old, who trains independently of the national team after leaving the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) national set-up in January, has decided to cut ties with long-term coach Indra Wijaya.
Indra, an Indonesian who was formerly a national team singles coach, had been with Lee's team since the latter decided to leave his contract with the BAM.
But after Lee finished ninth in the annual BWF World Tour rankings, missing out on a place at the season's Finals tournament in Bangkok next month, a decision has been taken for the pair to split.
"According to Zii Jia, he wants to try something different by going solo without a coach," Wijaya said in quotes reported by the New Straits Times.
The news came after a meeting between Zii Jia, his sister and manager Lee Zii Yii, and Indra.
Lee Zii Jia's mixed season as an independent
Zii Jia's decision to leave the national set-up had at first appeared to pay off as he won the Badminton Asia Championships followed by the Thailand Open.
However, his form has been inconsistent since, with multiple early exits including at the World Championships. Lee also opted to skip the Commonwealth Games.
Lee's race for World Tour Finals qualification came down to the year's final event at the Australian Open, where he faced the Chinese shuttler Lu Guangzu in the second round in a direct match-up to determine the last qualifier.
Lu won, sending the world number two out of the Australian Open – and ending Lee's season along with it.
While coach Indra says that he and Zii Jia "parted ways on a good note", Lee's next steps are uncertain.
Malaysia's New Straits Times quoted Rashid Sidek, another former BAM coach, pointing out that "Indra was the one who brought Zii Jia up from his junior days, so this news comes as a shocker to me."
Of the elite men's singles players, the world numbers one and three – Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Loh Kean Yew of Singapore – often train together in Dubai separate from their national teams. However, both still have their own coaches.
Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen, ranked fourth, is the most high-profile player without a coach.
Despite his recent form, Lee is one of three men shortlisted for the BWF's annual Male Player of the Year award based on his performances from 1 November 2021 to 30 October 2022, alongside the last two world champions, Axelsen and Loh respectively.