PETALING JAYA: National shuttler Lee Zii Jia’s (pic) insipid performance in the Asian Championship will not dent his eligibility for the Road To Gold (RTG) high performance training programme.
That was the assurance given by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
On Wednesday, world No. 4 Zii Jia lost 19-21, 16-21 to Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong in the first round in Dubai on Wednesday.
Hannah said Zii Jia was still a top 10 player and the one-year Olympic qualification period would only start in May.
“We’ll continue to support him because the Olympics qualification for badminton has yet to start. He is in the top 10 now, and has the chance to qualify,” said Hannah.
She also stated that RTG coordinator Stuart Ramalingam, together with his committee members Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi, Datuk Nicol David and Datuk Lee Chong Wei, would be meeting Zii Jia.
“Stuart is in the process of meeting RTG athletes after their overseas stints. So far, we have only met divers Dhabitah (Nur Dhabitah Sabri) and Pandelela (Datuk Pandalela Rinong).
“Their coaches will know best to assess their performances.
“We also have a technical committee led by former National Sports Institute director Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz and Olympian cyclist Josiah Ng, who will help us monitor these athletes and make decisions on their programme on an ad-hoc basis.”
Besides Zii Jia, reigning badminton world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, the bronze medallists at the Tokyo Olympics, are also on the list.
Aaron-Wooi Yik were beaten in the second round of the Asian meet on Thursday.
Badminton has the biggest number of athletes under the programme, which also includes Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (men’s doubles), Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (women’s doubles), Tan Kian Ming-Lai Pei Jing (mixed doubles) and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (mixed doubles).
Meanwhile, Hannah said she would be meeting US-based national runner Shereen Samson Vallabuoy on Tuesday to discuss ways to support her.
Olympian Josephine Mary had highlighted her daughter’s financial struggles to meet the demands of coaching, sports massage, accommodation, travel and other living costs. Josephine hopes to get financial support to help Shereen train in Florida and qualify for the Olympics.
“I will meet her on Tuesday to look into ways that we can support. What kind of support? We are still deciding on it,” said Hannah.
“Shereen is an athlete who has shown remarkable improvement over the years, and the ministry want to make sure athletes like her continue to get support.”
