KUALA LUMPUR: The dismal first round exit in the French Open should be a wake-up call for shuttler Lee Zii Jia.
The world No. 10 surprisingly went down 21-15, 21-19 to No.33 Denmark's Magnus Johannesen yesterday in yet another disappointing show.
In retrospect, Zii Jia had been recording impressive results in Europe since 2020.
In the World Tour events in Europe. he reached the semi-finals 11 times and secured two titles in five finals — at the 2021 All England and the Finnish Arctic Open last year.
He also had a positive start this season with a series of notable results, including reaching the quarter-finals in two out of three tournaments at the India Open and Indonesia Masters.
Former BAM high-performance director Datuk James Selvaraj said he is puzzled by Zii Jia's performance.
James said Zii Jia's coach, Wong Tat Meng, needs to find a solution fast for the shuttler's erratic performance
"Zii Jia has everything to be a champion. He has the strokes, the physique and the fitness, but something is blocking him from achieving greatness," said James.
"I hope Tat Meng can find the answers soon. I know Tat Meng from our days in BAM. He's a good coach who has delivered results before. Now, he needs to get Zii Jia to perform to his potential."
"I believe Tat Meng has his plans for Zii Jia, and if he follows the plan, we can see improvement, and I hope it will happen soon."
James, who watched Zii Jia's match against Johannesen, said the Malaysian seems to be lacking in defensive play.
"Every player needs to have plan A and B during their matches. They need to change things around if their plans are not working," said James.
"Players need to believe in their coach and work together to analyse matches and fix what needs to be fixed."