NATIONAL men single badminton ace Lee Zii Jia owes it to all Malaysians who vehemently fought tooth and nail on social media platforms against the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
Passionate fans stood firm behind the Kedah-born shuttler, taking on the national umbrella body with ferocity to ultimately emerge triumphant with the latter not only overturning its two-year ban on Zii Jia but also allowing the 23 year-old to become a professional player.
Yesterday (Jan 25), Zii Jia who has ‘blacked out’ his Facebook image on Friday (Jan 21) after BAM imposed a two-year ban on him from participating in international badminton tournaments – on grounds that he left the association prematurely and without good reason – staged a U-turn by singing praises of BAM.
Thus, the current No 7 badminton player worldwide said he will represent Malaysia at the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) 2022, which will be staged at the Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam from Feb 15 to 20. The tournament will also serve as the qualifiers for the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals.
While letting bygones be bygones may be an understatement in this emotionally-charged “badminton fans vs BAM” affair, it is hoped that Zii Jia will pick up every broken piece with the quest to return the favour to fans from all walks of life in every corner of the world (including international badminton stars) by getting back to his illusive winning ways.
He has to be modest to bear in mind that while badminton fans should not compare him with his mentor/idol Datuk Lee Chong Wei, the latter has consistently brought immense glory to Malaysia – something that will play on the lips of Malaysians for a very, very long time.
Understandably, as he was touted as Chong Wei’s successor from the very outset of his career, the burden of living up to such expectation may become too unbearable.
But alas, nobody wants Zii Jia to live in Chong Wei’s shadow; what is expected of him is to demonstrate the fighting spirit that has won him the All-England Open 2021 title with more consistency.
Life is full of ups and downs.If he stumbles, Zii Jia needs to quickly pick himself up while preventing yet another fall.
As for BAM, thanks for supressing your ego to listen to the deafening grouses and grievances of Malaysian badminton fans. While granting Zii Jia his wish to turn pro is applaudable, this should be the beginning for you to conduct self-reflection.
Look into the mirror and conduct a post-mortem of what is lacking that has prompted so many potential players to walk out of falter half-way through their badminton careers. – Jan 26, 2022
