KUALA LUMPUR – The long-anticipated meeting with national shuttler Lee Zii Jia ended on a positive note, said Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
The minister was set to meet the world-number-four shuttler following his poor run in tournaments since October last year.
In a social media post, Hannah said the meeting with Zii Jia – along with Road to Gold (RTG) coordinator Stuart Ramalingam – went well and had led to a positive outcome.
“Lee Zii Jia supports the RTG initiative and is thankful to be included in this national project. He told me he really wants that first gold medal in (the 2024 Paris Olympics) for the country.
“This is what I want to hear from our athletes, it starts with that desire for gold,” she said.
Zii Jia was listed by the RTG committee as among the prospects to bring home Malaysia’s first Olympic gold medal at next year’s Paris Games.
Yeoh added that Stuart will now conduct further discussion with Zii Jia’s agent regarding his commitment to RTG, which also includes coordination for the player’s coaching and sparring partners.
Recently, Yeoh confirmed that Malaysia will not skip next year’s Paris Olympics despite calls from some 40 countries to boycott the games for allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete. – The Vibes, April 8, 2023
