KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — Malaysian number one men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia said no one, including himself, is 100 per cent secure under the umbrella of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) if performance is unsatisfactory.
The 21-year-old, who is ranked world number 14, said he was aware that he must be at the top of his game in line with BAM’s Projek 24, that is the gold medal targets for the Paris Olympics in 2024, if he was to remain in the stable.
“Although some are saying I am safe, I am aware that I too may be dropped if I fall short,” he said when met at the Malaysian squad’s official training session for the Malaysian Masters 2020 at the Axiata Arena here today.
On Friday, BAM dropped seven shuttlers under its stable — Soong Joo Ven, Tan Jia Wei and Ziyad Md Tah (men’s singles), Teo Ee Yi/Ong Yew Sin (men’s doubles) and Lim Peiy Yee and Lim Chiew Sien (women’s doubles) — for not meeting their targets set for as of December last year.
Lee, the men’s singles gold medallist at the Philippine SEA Games last December, is aiming to be in the top 10 this year.
He is in a tough draw in the Malaysian Masters which will be held from Tuesday till Sunday, having to contend with world number four Anders Antonsen of Denmark in his opening match but believes with home advantage, he will be able to pull off an upset.
Meanwhile, Ee Yi, 26, said that he and his partner Yew Sin 24, were still in the midst of planning their future, especially on funding and sponsorship so that they could still be “in the boat” for qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the deadline of which is April.
“Because we were just dropped, we are having a few problems in making our plans, nevertheless, we wish to thank BAM for supporting us for more than 13 years... without BAM, we would be nobodies. We will continue our struggle,” he said. — Bernama
