BADMINTON
Zii Jia remains part of Road To Gold programme as Tze Yong, Tang Jie-Ee Wei included
Despite falling out of the world top 10 ranking, Lee Zii Jia remained part of the country's Road To Gold (RTG) programme, while Ng Tze Yong and mixed doubles rising pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei were also included in the latest list.
The initial requirements for the RTG, created to deliver the country’s first Olympic gold, is that the selected athletes must have won a medal at the Tokyo Olympics or currently occupy the world top 10 rankings.
Lee, tipped as one of the medal contenders at next year’s Paris Olympics, slipped to 11th on the world rankings, but his inclusion in the RTG would not be affected.
“For now, Zii Jia will remain part of RTG until we have a conversation with his coach and decide on his plans moving forward. For now, there are no changes to the status of Zii Jia,” said RTG project coordinator Stuart Ramalingam.
Lee had announced last week he would be taking a temporary break from the sport after two consecutive early exits in Singaporea and Indonesia.
But the Malaysian isn’t expected to stay out of competition for too long, and could return as early as the Korea Open (July 18-23).
With new coach Wong Tat Meng also expected to start work soon, the target would be to craft a new strategy for the Kedah-born as soon as possible.
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Besides that, the RTG committee also decided to include Ng and Chen-Toh.
21st-ranked Ng showed signs of moving up the ladder after upsetting the likes of Viktor Axelsen and Chou Tien-chen in recent weeks.
As for Chen-Toh, they delivered the country’s first title at the World Tour this year by winning the Orleans Masters in April and also swiftly moved into the world top 20 despite only being paired late last year.
Meanwhile, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, who slipped to 18th on the world rankings, must do better to continue justifying their inclusion in the programme.
This year, the Korea Open defending champions did not progress beyond the second round in the 10 individual tournaments they participated in.