Malaysian badminton legend Lee Chong Wei expressed that Lee Zii Jia needed more time to rise to the top and that people should not expect him to keep winning all the time.
Lee Zii Jia faced a lot of public backlash after his disappointing performance in Bangkok last month.
Lee Chong Wei told The Star, “I’ll be fine even if he does not win a medal at his first Olympics in Tokyo. He needs more time.”
However, Lee Chong Wei is disappointed with a particular aspect of Lee Zii Jia’s performance.
Lee Chong Wei: “After having not played for 10 months, I expected Zii Jia to come out firing but he did not show that urgency in his game.
“I was banned (for doping offence) for eight months. It was hard to go through the days without any competitions but I did not reduce the intensity in training. I kept training hard.
“I was itching for action and when I was on court, I showed how hungry I was… I wanted to prove to all that I can still play… at my best.
“I was expecting that kind of hunger from Zii Jia but it was missing.”
