Did Ajax make noise when Ten Hag joined Man Utd? — Zii Jia on Tat Meng appointment

Wong's appointment as his new coaching director was confirmed on Tuesday, seven months after the world number eight went separate ways with his former coach Indra Wijaya.

Lee said Wong’s expansive CV, alongside his success in grooming South Korea’s women’s singles ace An Se-Young into a serial winner, was one of the main reasons he was hired.

“He’s an experienced coach, and he is also a Malaysian. Communication-wise it will work well with me and my team. He’s also done really well with An Se-Young and produced great results. Hopefully with his experience, he can take me a step higher.

“The negotiations didn’t take long, but it happened after I trained with him [in Hong Kong] recently,” said Lee.

It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Mr. Wong Tat Meng as the new Coaching Director for Team LZJ. pic.twitter.com/lyWpEJZR7M

— Team LZJ (@TeamLZJ) May 23, 2023

Questions were raised following a social media posting by Hong Kong's men's singles ace Angus Ng Ka Long, who said Wong’s departure three months before the Asian Games to join one of their "main rivals" had left the team in an “awkward” position.

“Everyone knows that I am a Manchester United fan. When Erik ten Hag left Ajax, did the players or management make any noise? We dealt with this [hiring] professionally, and everything was done by the law.

“It’s not an issue, so let’s just try to be positive and move on. We should be happy about it and chase the Olympics dream together,” added Lee.

According to him, Wong is expected to start work after the Indonesia Open (June 13-18), while Liew Daren will continue to be in charge on the sidelines.

Lee is in action in the Malaysia Masters second round on Thursday, facing Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi