The polemic of Lee Zii Jia and BAM raises concerns at the Malaysian National Training Center

KOMPAS.com – The polemic between Malaysia’s best men’s singles, Lee Zii Jia, and BAM as the badminton parent of the neighboring country, caused a sense of worry.

The worry was present in the midst of national training activities (pelatnas) malaysian badminton.

The Malaysian badminton team’s coaching director, Wong Choong Hann, said that the polemic between Lee Zii Jia and BAM could distract the athletes’ focus.

Wong Choong Hann then emphasized the position of the coaching team in order to minimize the occurrence of these concerns.

He emphasized that the coaching team would not ignore athletes other than Lee Zii Jia who had resigned from the national training and BAM.

Also read: Chronology of Lee Zii Jia Sentenced to BAM: Wants to be Independent, but Blocked…

Wong Choong Hann also said that the coaching team had committed to all athletes in the national training before the polemic between BAM and Lee Zii Jia.

The former Malaysian badminton player refused if the coaching team was said to have just shifted their focus to other athletes after Lee Zii Jia declared his resignation and had an independent career.

“Players may be distracted, but we have been given the responsibility to build all the players, and when Zii Jia is in our guidance, he will also accept our full commitment,” said Wong Choong Hann, quoted from New Straits Times Malaysia.

“This does not mean that we are ignoring other athletes and it does not mean that it is only now that we are shifting our responsibility or supervision to other players. We are continuing to work as usual,” said Wong Choong Hann.

Also read: Allegedly leaving BAM because of money, Lee Zii Jia denies it

The polemic between Lee Zii Jia and BAM began after the badminton player gave his resignation letter on January 11, 2022.

BAM then confirmed Lee Zii Jia’s letter of resignation on January 17.

BAM claimed to have held a board meeting and a long discussion to defend Lee Zii Jia, who is still the highest ranking men’s singles player in Malaysia.

However, BAM’s efforts ended in vain. Lee Zii Jia remains firm in his decision, which is to leave BAM and pursue a career as an independent professional athlete.

According to a number of reports, one of the reasons that makes Lee Zii Jia not feel at home in the Malaysian national team is that he is often compared to the badminton legend of the neighboring country, Lee Chong Wei.

Also read: Lee Zii Jia admits he is depressed compared to Lee Chong Wei

After finding no light regarding efforts to defend Lee Zii Jia, BAM officially announced the resignation of the badminton player on Friday (21/1/2022).

In the announcement, Lee Zii Jia was also sentenced to a two-year ban from all BWF tournaments.

A similar sanction was also given by BAM to Goh Jin Wei who decided to leave the Malaysian national team last year.

The punishment given by BAM to Lee Zii Jia is increasingly controversial. Viktor Axelsen’s world -class badminton players also questioned BAM’s decision.

In fact, a petition appeared that demanded an annulment of the sentences against Lee Zii Jia and Goh Jin Wei.

Also read: Solidarity to Lee Zii Jia, World Unites Against BAM

In addition, there are other demands in the form of the dismissal of top BAM officials.

The polemic between Lee Zii Jia and BAM also forced the Malaysian Minister of Youth and Athletics, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, to intervene.

In an effort to overcome this polemic, Ahmad Faizal plans to bring together Lee Zii Jia and BAM on Monday (24/1/2022).

“Of course there are some suggestions that I will put forward. The most important thing right now is that we must prioritize sports and the image of the country in the eyes of the world,” said Ahmad Faizal regarding the plan to bring together Lee Zii Jia and BAM.

“The question (revocation of the sentence), I will discuss in the meeting later,” said Ahmad Faizal added.

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