KUALA LUMPUR – National badminton legend Datuk Rashid Sidek has now challenged independent player Lee Zii Jia to prove that his decision to leave the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) was the “correct move”.
This comes after the All-England champion officially received the green light from BAM to pursue his career as a professional player on Tuesday (Jan 25).
In an interview with Berita Harian, Rashid said that it was Zii Jia’s turn to return the favour to BAM and various parties for their immense trust in him by stepping up his game and winning more tournaments.
He must prove that even when outside of BAM, he can still perform his best and be capable of producing good results and emerge as a champion in every tournament he competes in.
He also added that this is the chance for Zii Jia to also quash rumours that he left BAM not because of money.
“Regardless of whether he’s inside or outside of BAM, the most important thing is discipline and commitment. It is not easy to aspire to be a champion; he must be exceptional and outperform everyone else.”
Rashid was also unconvinced by Zii Jia’s reason for leaving BAM and said that every successful athlete must deal with pressure.
Lesser pressure will not necessarily produce good results. It is, in fact, a package where everything has to be there.
On Thursday (Jan 27), BAM confirmed in a statement that it had formally allowed Zii Jia and women’s singles player Goh Jin Wei to participate in international tournaments as professional players.
The duo also met with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri, who was happy to see a positive ending to the matter.
Cover images via stylosport and harakahdaily
Editor: Sarah Yeoh