PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) national singles coaching director Wong Choong Hann (pic) has conceded that losing Lee Zii Jia is not unthinkable.
Choong Hann admitted that it would be a huge loss if a player of his stature were to leave, especially having invested a lot of time and money to make him into what he is right now.
“From BAM’s point of view, it would definitely be a huge loss (if Zii Jia leaves),” said Choong Hann.
“A lot has been invested, not just financially but also time, which is the most important to develop all these young players.
“It’s like developing many products where eventually only a few would turn out to be a success.
“So, when you lose some of these mature products which have a long lifespan of success ahead of them, of course it’s a huge loss.
“In our perspective, it is not fair. But for the players, they would think otherwise because for them, they are still representing the country. There is no right or wrong. It’s a personal preference,” he added.
Meanwhile, Choong Hann revealed that he has not discussed with Zii Jia on the matter.
“The only discussion we had was mainly on addressing his inconsistent form last year and how to stabilise his game and some technical matters and goals for this year,” said Choong Hann.
“Nothing has changed at the moment because he still reports for training.”
But if Zii Jia does leave, Choong Hann said it’s not the end of the world.
“I don’t think it’s worrying if the rumours are true. The more urgent matter is we have to rush to produce more top-level players,” explained Choong Hann.
