KUALA LUMPUR: World champion Soh Wooi Yik believes it will be only a matter of time before his "brother" Lee Zii Jia bounces back and returns to form.
Wooi Yik, 24, pledged his full backing for Zii Jia, a close friend since 2011 — the same as the latter did for him when he had struggled with his game.
Zii Jia is under scrutiny following a series of poor results of late — notably the last-16 exit at the World Championships in Tokyo last month.
World No 4 Zii Jia also lost in the first round of the Japan Open for his worst outing yet this year.
Wooi Yik, on the contrary, silenced his critics for his lack of titles with partner Aaron Chia by ending the country's 45-year wait for a world title in badminton. They won the men's doubles title in Tokyo.
Wooi Yik took to Twitter last week to back Zii Jia with a heartfelt post: "Who needs a superhero when you have an amazing brother to support you always?
"I will pick you up when you fall. I will stick up for you when no one else will."
Wooi Yik, when met at Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara yesterday, clarified his tweet by saying: "I have been through the same experience, so I know exactly how it feels.
"It may be inconvenient for me to discuss Zi Jia's situation, but as you can see, he's not in his best condition. He may not have confidence.
"However, I believe that Zi Jia will persevere and bounce back. I will support him on social media because I have been through this myself.
"Zii Jia was the one who helped me when I was down. He gave me lots of advice. I think being a champion himself, he will know how to overcome it."
"We often encourage each other, and although we train in different places, we spend a lot of time together."
Wooi Yik and Zii Jia played doubles together during their junior days.
They won silver at the 2012 Asian Youth Under-15 Championships in China and emerged the Under-14 champions at the 2014 National Junior Grand Prix Finals.