PETALING JAYA: Lee Zii Jia has often found himself at the receiving end of online abuse, but this time his coach Liew Daren has become the target following the Paris Olympics bronze medallist’s shock defeat at the Vietnam Open.
Daren shared on his personal social media account a comment from a badminton fan who blamed him for Zii Jia’s recent slump.
“Oii you better quit from Team Lee Zii Jia, you are the most useless coach he can get,” the individual wrote.
The same person later expressed his frustration again in response to another Instagram post, claiming that Daren’s advice had also contributed to Zii Jia’s poor performances.
Daren took over as Zii Jia’s coach in early January after Yeoh Kay Bin accepted an offer from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to join the national junior men’s singles set-up.
Zii Jia came under scrutiny after suffering a shock second-round defeat to Taiwan’s world No. 88 Wu Zhe-ying at the Vietnam Open.
The defeat dashed his hopes of making a deep run after he chose to compete in the lower-tier Super 100 tournament in an effort to rebuild his confidence.
BAM performance committee chairman Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei sympathised with Zii Jia’s current struggles and has once again opened the door for the former Asian champion to return to the national set-up if he needs help to rediscover his best form.
Zii Jia was once among the world’s leading men’s singles players, reaching a career-high No. 2 in 2022 after capturing the All-England title a year earlier.
However, a series of injuries last year kept him on the sidelines for a lengthy period, while he also revealed that he had suffered from depression, with both taking a toll on his performances.
