Malaysian coach retires, assures Zii Jia’s Paris Olympics’ readiness
Malaysian badminton coach Wong Tat Meng announced his retirement but assured his assistance to Lee Zii Jia’s readiness for the Paris Olympics.
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MALAYSIA COACH ASSURES ZII JIA READINESS FOR PARIS GAMES
Tat Meng assured Malaysian badminton fans that he will continue to help Zii Jia in his readiness for the Paris Games in July.
“We both have a good understanding that this Olympics is a ‘do or die’ mission for us,” Tat Meng said as reported by New Straits Times.
“At the moment, all my attention and focus will be on the final phase of Zii Jia’s preparations for the Paris Games,” he added.
Tat Meng announced his retirement plans after the conclusion of the 2024 Thomas Cup in Chengdu, China last week.
The 57-year-old former international helped Zii Jia guide Malaysia to a bronze medal finish in the biennial competition.
TAT MENG TO COACH IN MEN’S WORLD TEAM C’SHIP BEFORE PARIS GAMES
The Tat Meng-Zii Jia partnership will end after the Paris Games but the coach will help the Malaysian team in the men’s world team championship this year.
Tat Meng served for the Badminton Association of Korea for four years, as he guided current women’s world No.1 An Se Young.
He then coached the Hong Kong singles national team for a year before joining Zii Jia’s team last July.
“Even before working with Zii Jia, I had already shared my thoughts with him,” the coach said.
“What will or not happen after the Olympics, I have yet to give it a deep thought,” he added.
ZII JIA FAVORED IN MALAYSIA MASTERS AS INDONESIAN SHUTTLERS WITHDRAW
Meanwhile, Zii Jia should take advantage of his stint in the upcoming Malaysia Masters due to a reported withdrawal of all Indonesian men’s singles players in the tournament.
A source from the Badminton World Federation said all members of Indonesia’s men’s singles team that won silver in the 2024 Thomas Cup are skipping the tournament.
Indonesia’s world No.3 Jonatan Christie and No.7 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting are not playing in the Malaysian Open set from May 21-26.
The tight scheduling between the Malaysia Masters and the Paris Olympics may also force most of the top singles players to skip the tournament.
World No.10 Zii Jia, who is seeded eighth in the Malaysia Masters, may see his seeding increase with the confirmation of the top players’ withdrawals.
Zii Jia hopes to become the first Malaysian to win the Malaysian Masters since Lee Chong Wei won it all in 2018.
