Badminton: Tat Meng wants Zii Jia to enjoy the game and not push for instant results

PETALING JAYA: Coach Wong Tat Meng doesn’t believe in miracles and he just wants independent singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia to enjoy playing rather than pushing for instant results at the World Championships in Copenhagen next week.

Zii Jia, the world No. 13, is unseeded and is drawn to play fifth seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the first round.

Tat Meng had diverted the attention away from that crunch match and stated that the seedings are not the main concern for Zii Jia currently.

“Whether you are seeded or not, a player must win all his matches in order to be the champion. This is the reality not just for Zii Jia but any player. But my hope is to see him relaxed and enjoy the tournament,” said Tat Meng.

“Zii Jia is not seeded. He himself has said that without seedings, he can play freely without any pressure.

“Because he has been under a lot of pressure in training and also in tournaments, I hope it will change (in Copenhagen).”

Under Tat Meng’s guidance, Zii Jia lost his first two tournaments – the Korean and Japan Opens – in the first round last month but improved in the third tournament recently – the Australian Open, where he reached the semis.

The vastly experienced Tat Meng has not made changes to his new training programme prior to the World Championships, which begins on Monday (Aug 21).

However, the 55-year-old has been engaging in regular pep talks to motivate Zii Jia and focusing on match analysis and strategies before the major event.

“I’m not going to make many changes in his training programme after the three tournaments because he is still adapting to my system,” added Tat Meng.

“There has been a lot of discussion about his thinking, and the psychological side in approaching a game.”

Zii Jia does not only face an early test in the World Championships but also in the China Open on Sept 5-10 where he will play world No. 4 Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the first round.

Besides Zii Jia, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) shuttler Ng Tze Yong will also play in the World Championships where he will open his campaign against Zhao Junpeng of China.

Tze Yong is also down to play in the China Open where he will meet Malaysian Masters champion H.S. Prannoy of India in the first round.