Kuala Lumpur: Indra Wijaya who became the coach for World No. 6 Lee Zii Jia early this year, felt there’s still room for improvement for Lee Zii Jia despite winning the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) last Sunday.
The former World No. 4 from Indonesia said he would like to help Lee win gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which would also be the first Olympic gold medal for Malaysia.
“As a coach, I am definitely proud of his success in winning the BAC. However, it’s teamwork. There were other individuals on Zii Jia’s team to provide the support he needed, such as Lee Zii Yii (Lee Zii Jia’s sister) as the manager, Sandra Fiedler (physiotherapist), Lim Joe Hiang (fitness coach), and Liew Daren (sparring partner),” said Wijaya.
“Our job is not done yet. My team and I will help Zii Jia to materialize his dream of becoming an Olympic champion,” added Wijaya.
“Anyway, the success at BAC is very positive and is a strong motivation for him to face bigger tournaments. Everything has a process, we are gradually moving through one right now,” explained Wijaya.
“I hoped Zii Jia can maintain his stability and this victory would give him more confidence in the Thomas Cup Finals,” said Wijaya.
Lee Zii Jia emerged as the 2022 BAC champion after beating Indonesia’s World No. 8 Jonatan Christie 21-17, 23-21 in the final last Sunday.