LEE Zee Jia @inbadmintonclub

MALAYSIA: Young Shuttler of Malaysia LEE Zii Jia's position in the national Thomas Cup squad won't be affected, even if the outcome of this week's BAM Invitational Championships is not in his favour.

The head coach of the national men's singles, Hendravan feels that the internal tournament should not be used as a yardstick for the 22-year-old Kadahan, who has proven himself over the past year.

Instead, Hendran is keen to see how Xi Jia handles the pressure to play against his teammates, which according to the Indonesian is harder than facing opponents outside the national setup.

The 22-year-old played as the second singles when the team was led by Lee Chong Wei in Bangkok 2018 but in the upcoming Finals in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct 3-11, he will play in the first singles.

Zii Jia thanked the Badminton Association of Malaysia for their faith in him.

“I’m grateful and thankful to BAM because they’ve made me who I am today,” said the 2019 SEA Games champion.

Li Zi Jia's individual tournaments have had good results; Won the gold medal at the 2019 SEA Games with Malaysia Masters and All England reaching the semi-finals this year. But Lee Chong Wei said the pressure to play in individual and team tournaments is "completely different."

Zee Jia said, “In team events, you are not just playing for yourself. The whole team will be counting on you.” He said that when he was playing the first singles, he was always extra careful to ensure that he did not let the team down.

But above all, I want to see how quickly the players can adapt to the situation.

"Covid-19 has thrown everyone off their game and this Invitational Championship will be their first tournament in months.

"This has been the longest they have gone without playing in a single competition.
"For someone like Zii Jia, it's all about composure and focus," Hendrawan added.

The Invitational Championships, which offer a total prize money of RM60,000, kick off today and end on Sunday.
BAM will also have a second internal tournament in September, as international events remain shuttered due to Covid-19.