Down in the dumps: Lee Zii Jia lost to Taiwan’s world No. 49 Lee Chia-hao 21-15, 20-22, 21-23 in the men’s singles second round of the German Open in Mulheim. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: Seek help from a sports psychologist or mental trainer to become better. And don’t quit!
This is the advice given by former two-time national women’s singles champion Ng Mee Fen and former men’s singles great Datuk James Selvaraj to independent shuttler Lee Zii Jia.
Zii Jia is down in the dumps after losing to Taiwan’s world No. 49 Lee Chia-hao 21-15, 20-22, 21-23 in the men’s singles second round of the German Open in Mulheim on Thursday.
It must have been frustrating for him to lose as he had held a 20-16 lead in the second game before collapsing.
And after the demoralising defeat, he posted “I’m... done” on his Instagram, which was expletive-laden to underline, understandably his utter frustration.
His outburst and poor form has come at the worst moment with the prestigious All-England set to take place from March 14-19 in Birmingham.
Many, however, think that Zii Jia have had enough of playing competitive badminton without a coach as the second round defeat in Germany was his fourth early round exit this year, having also lost in the Malaysian Open, Indian Open and Indonesian Masters.
And an ongoing court case with his former coach Indra Wijaya, whom he had decided to part ways last November, could be an unwanted distraction.
Mee Fen, who was a junior coach in the national team for four years, believes that Zii Jia may need support from a sports psychologist following his outburst on social media and had some words of encouragement.
“I knew Zii Jia since he was 13 years-old when I was a junior coach in the national team,” said Mee Fen, who was handling the girls’ singles players.
“I got to know Zii Jia and he had been through many challenges even at that time but managed to overcome them.
“Now, it’s sad to see him become frustrated after losing narrowly many times.
“I believe that he needs to get some support from a sports psychologist or mental trainer to overcome this,” said Mee Fen.
On his poor form, Mee Fen, who is currently pursuing her Masters in Counselling said: “It’s normal for players to go through critical points or tests in their career.
“Even former greats like Lee Chong Wei and China’s Lin Dan have been through tough times.
“This is a challenging period for Zii Jia but I believe that if he is able to overcome this, he will definitely become a better player.
“For now, he needs psychological maturity to be able to handle the pressure and to become more consistent.
“He also needs to get a suitable coach to guide him,” added Mee Fen.
Meanwhile, James hopes that Zii Jia will not give up on his career.
“Looking at his post, he is really frustrated and angry after losing narrowly so many times,” he said.
“But I hope he doesn’t quit playing because that will be a waste of his talent.
“He needs to keep believing in himself,” added James.
