Give me time to be world class, Zii Jia tells fans

PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia has called for patience from the Malaysian badminton fans, saying that he will have to bide his time to become a worldclass player.

The 20-year-old is under immense pressure to succeed national No. 1 Lee Chong Wei as there is uncertainty about him making a comeback after being diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer.

Zii Jia, who was only promoted to the senior team last year, insists it will be impossible for him to expedite his transition and he intends to develop one step at a time.

“I believe I’m on the right track, but I’ll need more time to become a top player,” said Zii Jia, the world No. 51.

“I know the expectation is very high, but I try not to let it bother me so much.

“I know what I have to do. At the moment, I just have to focus on one match at a time, tournament by tournament and keep on learning.

“If I commit any mistakes, I’ll rectify it so that I won’t repeat it. If there’s any area that

I’m not good enough in, I’ll try to fix it and improve.

“As long as I can do that, everything will fall into place and the results will come.”

After a one-month hiatus, Zii Jia enjoyed a winning return at the Taiwan Open by beating third seeded homester Tsu Jen-hao 21-18, 22-20 in the first round yesterday.

Zii Jia last competed at the Asian Games in Jakarta in August before injuring his lower back, forcing him to skip the Malaysia Games (Sukma) and last week’s Korean Open.

“It’s great to be back and winning the first match after a long absence is always good motivation,” said Zii Jia, who faces Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo for a place in the last eight today.

“It has not been a good year so far and my ranking has not improved. I’m hoping to turn it around in Taiwan. The draw looks good too, hopefully I can take advantage of it.

“I’m eager to redeem myself for missing the Sukma. I thought this was my best chance of winning gold in my last outing, unfortunately I injured my lower back just before the Games.”

Zii Jia will be joined by Chong Wei Feng in the second round after the latter defeated Vietnamese veteran Nguyen Tien Minh 13-21, 21-17, 21-13.

Liew Daren and Leong Jun Hao failed to clear their first hurdles, losing to Chen Chiting and Lin Yu-hsien both of Taiwan.