KUALA LUMPUR – With national ace shuttler Lee Zii Jia skipping the Commonwealth Games, Malaysia’s hopes of a gold medal in the singles event now lie with second singles player Ng Tze Yong.
The news came in as a shocker to badminton fans after Zii Jia, through a video shared to the media two days ago, confirmed his absence in Birmingham next month.
According to Zii Jia, he wants to focus on the World Championships in August and also take a rest from his hectic schedule.
As many would support the world number 5 in his decision, there is still the other side of the story that has not become exposed.
According to a source in the badminton fraternity, before the announcement of skipping the Commonwealth Games, Zii Jia was all set for Birmingham and also made some demands to the National Sports Council (NSC) for him to participate in the Commonwealth Games.
“He wanted NSC to allow his coach, manager, physiotherapist, and sparring partner to follow him for the multisport event.
“Since the Covid-19 is not over, the organisers are taking precautionary measures to restrict the number of officials travelling and for badminton sport, they have only allowed five officials per country.
“These five spots include the coaches, managers, and physiotherapist to accompany the entire badminton contingent, so how can NSC allow Zii Jia to bring his whole entourage? How about the other players?
“However, NSC did give Zii Jia the green light to bring his coach to Birmingham but all of sudden, he produces a video to announce his decision of skipping the Commonwealth Games.
“Zii Jia was not fully truthful in this matter. He should tell the whole story because the Badminton Association of Malaysia was hoping for him to lead the badminton contingent.
Zii Jia has been a controversial figure in the Malaysian badminton scene since early this year and it all started when he opted to quit BAM and go professional.
In response, BAM banned him for two years until the government stepped in and settled the issue between the two parties amicably.
“Everything is settled and Zii Jia did have some kind of agreement with BAM on his participation in all the multisport events, which includes the Commonwealth Games.
“This is a sad state for Malaysian badminton now.
“Even Malaysian legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei did not make such demands when he was playing.
“I really hope he will win the World Championships this year because if he does not, people are going to start questioning his decision to skip the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham,” said the source who wished for anonymity due to the backlash on social media. – The Vibes, June 24, 2022
