Mixed fortune: Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia gestures to spectators after he retired due to an injury in the men's singles badminton match against Li Shifeng of China at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou on Friday. - AP
PETALING JAYA: It was a rollercoaster of emotion for Wong Tat Meng in his last stint as a coach for Lee Zii Jia at the World Tour Finals.
Tat Meng saw one of the best performances from Zii Jia before an ankle injury ended his superb campaign prematurely in Hangzhou, China on Friday.
The world No. 8 Zii Jia had shown class in beating Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan, Anders Antonsen of Denmark and had looked good to end his run as the Group A champion after leading 22-20, 13-5 against Li Shifeng of China in the final group fixture.
But misfortune struck as he injured his ankle and had to be wheeled out straight to the hospital. He has to withdraw from the tournament.
Tat Meng said he was happy to see a complete player in Olympic Games bronze medal winner Zii Jia.
"He had grown into an all-round player. In this tournament, I saw his growth and maturity in the game. He was able to play aggressively, and knew when to slow down. He was patient with his shots. He showed hard and soft touch, and even mixed it up with double motion moves," said Zii Jia.
"When he won the All-England and Asian Championships, he went all out with his attacking style. Now, there is more variety in his game.
"Remember when Lin Dan of China and Lee Chong Wei started...they were aggressive too, but they grew mature over the years and knew when to go full throttle and when to keep it slow.
"To me, Zii Jia played like a champion here. I believe he was 50% better than how he played at the Paris Olympic Games.
"In fact, he was calm and did not let outside factors affect his form on court. He used to react with emotion but this time, he was able to keep his emotion in check.
Zii Jia had to deal with all kind of comments after apologising for the mistake of wearing a jersey with the Jalur Gemilang upside down but did not let it affect his game.
Tat Meng is just hoping that Zii Jia will get back on his feet and start the new season in a positive spirit. Zii Jia has been entered for the Malaysian Open from Jan 7-12 in Bukit Jalil but it's unsure whether he will get to play.
"His ankle is still swollen and he's still limping. He would not have withdrawn if it was bearable. He could not walk. He will return home tonight (Dec 14) and we will carry out another test to see the extent of his injury," added Tat Meng.
