Badminton star Lee Zii Jia (李梓嘉) is under a lot of pressure lately. While many of his fans continue to show their support for the athlete, there’s been a looming dark cloud, especially after his recent defeats. Many felt that the ace player is losing his touch after his controversial decision to proceed without a coach.
It’s not easy being one of the top players in your mid 20s. So many expectations are placed upon them and when there’s no proper support – life can get pretty lonely. Thankfully, our local legend is championing to see this struggling young star get back on his feet.
Badminton legend Dato Lee Chong Wei (李宗偉) is offering his help for his successor Lee Zii Jia. The former player has had countless victories as well as defeats throughout his 19-year career and even battled cancer to be crowned as the World’s No.1 for nearly 200 consecutive weeks before his retirement. If anyone is qualified to help the young athlete, it’s definitely Lee Chong Wei.
However, he will not be assisting the former world’s no.2 as a coach but as a motivator. Speaking to local media, the father-of-three said he doesn’t want to see the struggling player end up like Japan’s Kento Momota (桃田 賢斗). “Momota is struggling to regain his confidence and I don’t want another good player like Zii Jia to experience the same,” he said.
For your information, the Japanese player has been struggling to regain his form after being involved in a car accident in KL back in 2020. The Malaysian three-time Olympic silver medallist shared that all he wants is to see Lee Zii Jia do well in the sport he’s passionate about. “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,” the 40-year-old added.
When asked for his opinion on the young star’s rocky relationship with his former coach, the Malaysian star advised him to settle all outside distractions so he can focus on improving. Lee Chong Wei has no plans in coaching the 24-year-old but believes that the ace player will be able to get back on his feet and reclaim the top spot in the world of badminton.
Sources: Olympics, TheStar(1)(2), Chinapress
