KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — The Malaysian chef de mission (CDM) to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin still believes that men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia will rise to the occasion at the quadrennial Games.

Hamidin said Zii Jia, who is an asset to the national contingent in Paris, deserves to be given more opportunities to regain his rhythm.

"As the CDM, I can still be patient. Next week I have a meeting with him. Give him a chance. Sometimes, players have issues that need to be resolved. We must remember that he is an asset... not easy for us to groom another asset as that will take at least five more years.

"But if it reaches a point where he (Zii Jia) still can’t raise his game, then we will have to make a decision...,” he told reporters at the sponsorship signing ceremony between Milo and the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), here, today.

In the latest world ranking, Zii Jia, who crashed out in the second round of the recently-concluded Malaysia Masters, fell two spots to number 10, having reached the world number two spot last October.

Elaborating, Hamidin said national shuttlers must, from now on, reach at least the quarter-finals of any championships they compete in to accrue qualifying points for Paris 2024.

Hamidin, who is also the OCM deputy president and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president, reiterated that national shuttlers who are not in the Road to Gold (RTG) programme can still make the cut if they achieve positive results.

He said this meant that those already in the programme had better not slacken or become complacent, lest they be dropped.

"(Men’s doubles) pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and (men’s singles) shuttler Ng Tze Yong are among those with the potential to kick out those already on the list or be included after achieving the minimum criteria, which is a top-10 ranking in the world,” he said.

Meanwhile, he also advised national athletes not to put too much pressure on themselves by thinking too much about striking gold in Paris and, instead, focus on efforts to raise their performances. — Bernama