Kuala Lumpur: In a decision that was widely considered as a bad move and created a lose-lose situation for everyone, national teams, players, and the sport itself, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) said on Friday that it has decided to not register Lee Zii Jia for any international tournaments for a period of two years, effective Jan 18, 2022.
In addition to Lee Zii Jia, BAM has also announced they would not register Goh Jin Wei for any international tournaments for two years, and it went into effect October 31, 2021.
At the press conference that started at 4 pm, Malaysian time, BAM said they received the resignation letter from Lee on Jan 11, 2022, and has since held several rounds of informal discussions with Lee hoping for him to retract his resignation but to no avail.
BAM then listed reasons below in which Lee Zii Jia provided as the factors of his resignation:
1. Couldn’t stand the pressure of being in the national squad.
2. Lee found it very difficult to adapt to the regimented lifestyle in the Academy of Badminton Malaysia.
3. Lee wanted his own coaches and support service; to plan his own tournaments, and to have his own sponsors.
BAM went on to say they couldn’t fulfill these requirements brought up by Lee and thought it was unrealistic.
The association, however, did not shut the door completely for both players as they are willing to hold further discussions with Lee and Goh by following the proper process.
Here’s the full press conference by BAM:
(video: Astro Arena)
