M'sia shuttler Lee banned for 2 years

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysian badminton ace Lee Zii Jia, ranked seventh in the world, was yesterday banned from playing in tournaments for two years as a punishment for quitting his national team to go independent.

The 23-year-old has been held up as the heir to Malaysian legend Lee Chong Wei, rising rapidly up the rankings and scoring a breakthrough victory at the prestigious All England Open last year.

Following some poor performances in recent months, including at the Tokyo Olympics where he lost to China's Chen Long, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) disclosed this week that he had quit the body and wanted to play as an independent.

But the association refused to back the move, instead deciding to punish him with a two-year ban from all tournaments sanctioned by world governing body the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

"After much difficult deliberation, BAM have reached the decision to not register Lee Zii Jia for any international tournaments for a period of two years starting from Jan 18 2022," said BAM deputy president Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos yesterday.

He also insisted: "We are not banning anybody... we are not registering them. We keep using the word ban, that's not correct. There are legal and factual differences.

"We are not registering them. Why? Because it's ironical to register someone who doesn't want to be with BAM."

BWF sanctions the vast majority of tournaments on the badminton calendar, and each country's association is responsible for registering its players - meaning the Malaysian body can effectively block Lee from competing, as Jahaberdeen had clarified.

Previously, BAM also banned Tan Chun Seang from playing in Asian countries for two years after he quit the national team.

BAM said Lee had cited "the pressure of being in the national side" and the "regimented lifestyle" at Malaysia's badminton academy as reasons for quitting.

The body sought to persuade him to stay during talks but ultimately decided it could not agree to his demands, which included having his own team of coaches and support staff.

"Obviously, we feel extremely sad about Lee's decision," Jahaberdeen said, adding it could affect training programmes and the body's finances.

But he also said the player can appeal to return.

Lee, previously seen as one of Malaysia's best hopes of winning the country's first Olympic gold medal, has yet to comment publicly since news emerged he was cutting ties with BAM.

World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark earlier this week voiced support for Lee's decision to go independent, tweeting that "it's his career and his life after all".

The BWF has also not commented specifically on Lee's case.

But in a statement on Thursday, its secretary-general Thomas Lund noted there was a precedent of independent players and a country's member association reaching an agreement whereby the association submits entries into tournaments for the players.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE