KUALA LUMPUR: With a switch back to his old racquet, world No. 3 Lee Zii Jia wants to put his season back on track starting with the Denmark Open in Odense next week.
The 24-year-old, sponsored by Victor, has decided to ditch the brand's flagship model, TK-RYUGA II "temporarily" and use its predecessor model TK-RYUGA instead, noting that his familiarity with the older model would do his game good.
He used TK-RYUGA when he won the All England title last year.
It's not immediately known when Zii Jia started using TK-RYUGA II, which was launched in August.
Zii Jia said he had discussed with Victor about the switch and was given its blessing.
After getting his professional career off to a fine start by winning the Asia Championships and Thailand Open, Zii Jia's journey took a turn when he failed to get past the last 16 in his last three starts.
The last time Zii Jia was in action, he was booted out in the first round of the Japan Open. It came a week after he flopped in the World Championships, also in Tokyo, in August.
Perhaps a switch to his old racquet will spark something positive as Zii Jia has a tough draw at the Denmark Open and the French Open.
Barring any upsets, the Malaysian will face world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in the semi-finals of both tournaments.
"I'm now using TK-RYUGA. In the past month, I've had discussions with my team to adjust my training plan and improve my performance. And, I proposed a temporary change of my racquet," Zii Jia posted on his Instagram account.
"I really love the design and hitting experience of TK-RYUGA II, and I'll definitely use it in the future.
"However, at this moment, I have decided to use TK-RYUGA, which I've been using for a long time and hope to bring back the familiar state and feeling.
"I'm truly grateful to @victorsport_official for accepting my idea and putting my performance and needs as the top priority.
"I'm glad to have strong support from my team, family, all the fans and my sponsors. I'll do everything to bring back the fearless Lee Zii Jia and make a fresh start."
Zii Jia arrived in Denmark a week ago to gear up for the European swing, which also involved the Hylo Open in Germany.
Zii Jia is using Hvidovre Badminton Club (HBC) in Copenhagen as his base and has the company of last year's world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
Zii Jia's and Kean Yew's presence at the HBC Hall, the club's training ground, made it memorable for the trainees.
"Our youth players had something to look forward to at this afternoon's training when Lee Zii Jia from Malaysia came and trained in the HBC Hall and had even brought another star shuttler with him in the form of 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew from Singapore," wrote HBC in their Facebook account.