PETALING JAYA: Former national shuttler Kwan Yoke Meng believes that tactical changes in Lee Zii Jia’s (pic) game have paying off handsomely ahead of the Paris Olympics next month.
Yoke Meng should know as he had coached Zii Jia during the latter’s junior days.
Zii Jia seems to have rediscovered some of his best form at just the right time after an inconsistent start to the year.
The world No. 9 independent player captured the Thailand Open title and finished runners-up in the Malaysian Masters last month.
Yoke Meng feels that Zii Jia is now utilising his attacking weapons more and this is helping him win matches.
“I can see many changes from Zii Jia now. He is back in attacking mode,” said Yoke Meng, who was part of the Thomas Cup winning team in 1992.
“Before this, he tried to work on his weaknesses but he forgot about his main strength which is his attacking.
“He wanted to improve his defense and net play but everything needs to be done together.
“Now, he realises this and this is a very good sign as he has been winning,” added Yoke Meng.
The 58-year-old was Zii Jia’s coach from 2015 to 2016 when the latter was a junior player in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
Yoke Meng believes that his former charge is a medal prospect in the Olympics along with world No. 5 men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik.
“He is one of our medal prospects along with our men’s doubles pair. To be successful at the OIympics, they have to peak at the right time and avoid injuries,” said Yoke Meng.
“Mentally, they must also be at their best. If you ask me, there’s no need to do anything extraordinary but better to prepare normally.”
Zii Jia is currently preparing for the Indonesian Open which starts tomorrow in Jakarta.
The 26-year-old pulled out of the Singapore Open which ended yesterday after suffering cramps and hamstring issues due to his efforts in reaching back-to-back finals in Thailand and Malaysia and will be out to regain full fitness ahead of the Indonesian tourney.
Zii Jia has been drawn to face world No. 21 Frenchman Christo Popov in the opening round.
A win for the former could see him take on China’s reigning Asian Games gold medallist Li Shifeng in the second round.
