KUALA LUMPUR: The performance in the three closest tournaments will be used as a benchmark for coach Wong Tat Meng in structuring a suitable training programme for the country’s top professional singles player Lee Zii Jia.
For that purpose, Tat Meng, who entered the second day of coaching Zii Jia, said he first wanted to witness for himself the ability of the 25-year-old player in action on the court, starting with the South Korea Open and the Japan Open this July, as well as the Australian Open in August.
“I have never seen him (Zii Jia) in a competition. So I want to see how he performs before deciding on his training programme,” according to Tat Meng in a video shared with the media yesterday.
Tat Meng said in addition to improving the player’s skills ahead of the tournament, the main focus is to improve Zii Jia’s psychological ability to absorb pressure when performing or facing the pressure of fans who demand that the player rise to perform brilliantly.
“Zii Jia has the potential and ability to be a champion. It comes in a package because if he gets enough attention, of course it will come with a great deal of pressure.
“He has to learn to accept (the expectations of) fans and the media. They are confident in his ability so he has to be confident in himself,” said Tat Meng.
Previously, Zii Jia was reported to have regained his motivation after choosing to take a short break following his declining performance in recent times, including exiting as early as the first round of the Singapore Open and Indonesia Open in June.
At the same time, the 2021 All-England champion experienced a drop in world ranking from 13th to 14th in the latest update released by Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Media previously reported that Zii Jia’s reappearance after a short break will start with the South Korea Open which will take place from July 18-23, as confirmed by the Kedahan player’s sister and manager, Lee Zii Yii.
Zii Jia will face Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long in the first round of the South Korea Open. – Bernama
