KUALA LUMPUR – Amid the festive season of Chinese New Year, Malaysian badminton star Lee Zii Jia is foregoing traditional celebrations to focus on intense training in South Korea, gearing up for the Badminton Asia Team Championships set to commence in Shah Alam on Tuesday.
The world number 10 independent men’s singles shuttler is deeply committed to aiding the Malaysian men’s team in their quest to defend the title secured two years ago, when he captained the squad.
Coincidentally, the championships return to the same venue, the Setia Alam Convention Centre.
In a recent social media update, the dedicated shuttler shared glimpses of his rigorous training regimen with the Badminton Association of Korea (BKA) in Jincheon recently.
Expressing gratitude to the BKA for the invaluable training experience, the 25-year-old provided followers with an insider’s view of the training base in Jincheon, Seoul, courtesy of Team LZJ’s strength and conditioning coach, Lim Joe Heang.
“Looking forward to getting back into action and to all who are celebrating, Happy Chinese New Year,” read the post.
Guiding him through his training stint is his coach, Wong Tat Meng, who previously coached the Korean badminton team for four years before joining Hong Kong’s coaching staff in 2022.
Malaysia find themselves drawn in Group B alongside Taiwan, Brunei and Kazakhstan and are poised to secure a spot in the quarter-finals without much difficulty.
Only the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.
Additionally, the top four teams from the tournament will earn automatic qualification for the Thomas and Uber Cup, scheduled to take place in Chengdu, China, in April. – February 11, 2024