KUALA LUMPUR – If all else fails, Liew Daren will be considered the best option to be Lee Zii Jia’s coach.
The world No 8 said he and his sister Lee Zii Yii, also manager, are in the works of confirming the most suited candidate.
“On my behalf, my sister has approached a few coaches, but we could not confirm any particular one just yet. Once we have confirmed, we will make the announcement.
“We have more things to discuss with the coach because we need to understand what would be his plan for me.
“We will try to confirm the coach the soonest as possible considering that the 2024 Olympic qualifiers have already started.
“If I really cannot get a coach soon, I will have Daren as my coach,” he said when met at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara here, today.
However, Zii Jia was unable to reveal who the individual would be and whether he was local or not.
The 25-year-old former Asian champion has been struggling with his form since he decided to drop Indra Wijaya from his team in November last year.
Since then, Indonesian Indra has filed a lawsuit against Zii Jia for wrongful termination.
When asked about his next move, Zii Jia said he wished to focus on improving his form as he will participate in back-to-back tournaments starting with the Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, China on May 14-21.
“Right now, I am not only focusing on my preparation for the Sudirman Cup but also the Malaysia Masters, Thailand Open, Singapore Open, Indonesia Open and so on.
“For my part, my current condition is just part of the process to get better, but as to how long will it take me to break through I cannot tell for sure.
“Although I cannot say that I have completely overcome my issues. I am still working on controlling my emotions.
“This is my challenge. What happened to me was my choice. I bear the consequences,” he added.
Meanwhile, Zii Jia also said no solution has been provided by the Road to Gold committee following their meetings recently.
“So far there has not been any solution after meeting with the RTG committee.
“They have only been taking notes of my issues but no action plan stated yet.” – The Vibes, May 5, 2023
