KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — Keep calm and trust Lee Zii Jia, says Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) singles coaching director Wong Choong Hann.

Choong Hann said the national men’s singles professional ace may be sailing through rough seas at the moment but believed that Zii Jia needs time to prove himself.

Despite having left BAM a year ago, Choong Hann felt that it was still too early to judge the current world number two move as he might be finding his feet as the independent shuttler.

"We have to trust whatever decision Zii Jia makes,” he said.

The 24-year-old player had come under fire as he failed to clear back-to-back early round exits at the 2023 Malaysia Open followed by 2023 India Open.

Zii Jia went down to Japanese rising star, Kodai Naraoka, 21-13, 17-21, 19-21 in the opening round of Malaysia Open last week and fell short to China’s Li Shi Feng in the second round of India Open, 11-21, 21-14, 18-21, last Thursday.

Choong Hann said the reigning Asian champion was a bit unfortunate to bow out early in both meets.

"Zii Jia could have put it through if he had been more composed and committed fewer mistakes in crucial moments,” he said.

As such, he hoped that the 2021 All England champion will fine-tune on some of the key areas and eventually play much better than the current performance.

Meanwhile, Choong Hann is pleased with 2022 Commonwealth Games men’s singles silver medallist, Ng Tze Yong’s progress despite being sent home packing early by Naraoka in the second round of Malaysia Open, 21-15, 19-21, 15-21 followed by Shi Feng, 19-21, 14-21 in India Open’s first round, last Wednesday.

While Tze Yong is narrowing the gap with other top shuttlers, Choong Hann noted that the world number 27 player is still lacking in terms of making quick decisions on the court.

"I think he is on the right track and we are happy with his progress. However, I can see that sometimes he had a bit of confusion when the opponent tried to make a quick change of tactics but that will change when he has a little bit more of match experience,” he said. — Bernama