KUALA LUMPUR: After announcing his retirement plans, Lee Zii Jia's coach, Wong Tat Meng, assured that he and the world No. 10 will remain committed to their Paris Olympic mission.
Following the conclusion of the Thomas Cup in Chengdu, China last week, Tat Meng, through an Instagram post today, thanked the Malaysian team for winning a bronze medal, and also said that this year's men's world team championship would be his last.
The 57-year-old former international joined Zii Jia's Team LZJ last July after serving the Hong Kong national team (singles) for a year.
Prior to that, Tat Meng was attached to the Badminton Association of Korea for four years, during which he was known for coaching current world No. 1 women's singles player An Se Young.
When contacted by Timesport, Tat Meng said he felt the time was right for him to call it a day during the prize giving ceremony at the Hi Tech Zone Sports Centre in Chengdu. Malaysia settled for bronze after losing 3-1 to eventual champions China in the Thomas Cup semi-finals.
"It's my personal feeling after the prize giving ceremony. I have been coaching for more than 20 years and of course I thought about when would be the right time for me to retire from international coaching.
"Even before working with Zii Jia, I had already shared my thoughts with him.
"We both have a good understanding that this Olympics is a 'do or die' mission for us.
"At the moment, all my attention and focus will be on the final phase of Zii Jia's preparations for the Paris Games.
"What will or will not happen after the Olympics, I have yet to give it a deep thought," Tat Meng said.
Team LZJ when contacted by Timesport, said: "We think our answer can be that coach Tat Meng's main task is to prepare Zii Jia for the Paris Olympics.
"That is the focus for now. Moving forward, we have to sit down and discuss further."
Zii Jia, who turned professional in 2022 after leaving BAM, is the only Malaysian men's singles player to qualify for this year's Olympics.
At the moment, the 26-year-old Kedahan is working to improve his world ranking in order to get a good seeding at the Olympics.