Lee Chong Wei wants to help Lee Zii Jia in any way possible to help him overcome his recent rut so that the independent shuttler could avoid the same fate as Kento Momota.

Zii Jia suffered three back-to-back early exits at the Malaysia and India Open, and most recently at the Indonesia Masters when he lost in the second round to Angus Ng Ka Long.

“Momota is struggling to regain his confidence and I don’t want another good player like Zii Jia to experience the same.

“I know Zii Jia is experiencing a difficult time right now, but he has my support. I’ve been there, it can be lonely and one can easily lose focus. I want to see Zii Jia do well and so do all the other former players. We want what is best for him and to see him make the country proud,” Chong Wei told The Star.

Momota struggled to return to his true potential after being involved in an accident in Kuala Lumpur in 2020.

The two-time world champion, now 19th on the world rankings, had admitted he was not as confident as he used to be in matches.

Zii Jia’s current predicament may also stem from him playing without a coach after parting ways with Indra Wijaya last year.

Chong Wei said any athlete must have a coach.

“I agree that players do most of the work in training but one can’t go on without a coach. Even top stars in tennis have coaches, and it’s the same with all sports. Coaches can be good motivators as they are able to analyze matches,” he added.

Zii Jia's next action will most likely be at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships in Dubai next month.