Choong Hann pleased with Zii Jia's determination to regain form
KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching director Wong Choong Hann is pleased with the determination shown by national men's singles shuttler, Lee Zii Jia to regain his form ahead of the two European outings next month.
Choong Hann pointed out that the national number one was buckled down in training to get himself back on track after going through a slump in three tournaments held in Bangkok, Thailand.
“We are doing our best to get his form back, with a focus on his mental preparation to get over his performance in Thailand and how he can move forward and focus on the Swiss Open and All-England next month.
“He has been showing a lot of resilience in training and I am very happy to see this,” he told Bernama when contacted yesterday.
In the Yonex Thailand Open, Zii Jia lost in the quarterfinals to second seed Chou Tien Chen of Tiawan before crashing out in the first round at the hands of India's Sameer Verman in the Toyota Thailand Open.
Zii Jia's poor showing continued when he lost all his three matches in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals, also in Bangkok.
The second seed of the Swiss Open is set to open his campaign against South Korean shuttler, Heo Kwang Hee in the tournament that will be held from March 2-7.
For the time being, Choong Hann does not want to put the
Alor Setar-born lad under any pressure and hoped that the current world number eight player will give his best in the two upcoming tournaments.
The former world number one shuttler admitted that Zii Jia needs to rediscover his footing before he is able to hit the tournament jackpot.
“The public need to be realistic. Suffering a dip in form is part and parcel for any player in this world. I believe he needs to take quite some time to get back to where he used to be,” Choong Hann said when asked on criticisms directed towards Zii Jia recently, while at the same time urged Malaysians to keep supporting the player.
Choong Hann was also confident that women's double pair, Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean will shine in the Swiss Open based on their fine form in the World Tour Finals in Thailand last month.