Zii Jia needs more time under Tat Meng, says Chong Wei

Lee Chong Wei urged fans to allow Lee Zii Jia more time to find his footing under new coach Wong Tat Meng.

The Malaysian badminton great also noticed his different style of play when he lost to Angus Ng Ka Long at the Korea Open.

“I did see Zii Jia playing differently from how he is used to, so maybe he needs more time to adapt. It might be better to reassess his performance maybe six months down the line.

“Yes, he has struggled with results this season, but we can’t be expecting immediate results. It doesn’t work that way. It’s too early to judge him, he has only been training under Tat Meng for about two weeks,” Chong Wei told New Straits Times.

Zii Jia, who is due to compete at the upcoming Japan Open this week, is expecting a much better performance from himself.

“Disappointed at this edition of the Korea Open. But the grind continues with Master Tat Meng looking on and help from a few familiar faces. Working for a better outcome at next week’s Japan Open,” posted Team LZJ .

The world number 17 is up against home shuttler Kenta Nishimoto in his first test in Tokyo, and would have been working over-time to rectify his first round loss in Yeosu.

Zii Jia did not progress beyond the second round eight times this year, and only returned from a month-long break in Korea after suffering this spate of losses.

Chong Wei also weighed on Ng Tze Yong, who crashed out in the quarter-finals last week.

"Tze Yong has improved, but are we going to be satisfied with that? Five quarter-finals and several big scalps along the way, is that really enough? At some point, he will need a breakthrough. Reaching five quarter-finals is simply not good enough,” added the Malaysian icon.

The 23rd ranked Ng lost to Loh Kean Yew in the last eight last week, in a defeat that was fine margins especially towards the end of both games.

The Johorean has an immediate chance at taking his renge when he takes on the Singaporean in Tokyo.