KUALA LUMPUR: Top men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia has revealed plans to train in Dubai in the near future.
However, the world No 7 wants to focus on forming his own team, which he expects to complete ahead of next month’s German Open, before heading to the UAE.
“My priority is to settle the team first but yes, I will go there (Dubai),” he told reporters after a training session at the Akademi Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara.
He will follow in the footsteps of Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, who have made the UAE their training base.
Zii Jia, who is the 2021 All-England champion, said four leading badminton equipment companies have ‘put in proposals’ to be his sponsors but all are still in the negotiation stage.
“I will announce my sponsor later. I am also still in talks to get a new coach, all private and confidential. I will make an announcement once everything is confirmed,” he said.
He admitted to facing challenges after deciding to go independent instead of playing under the Badminton Association of Malaysia.
But he is grateful that his family, especially his sister Lee Zii Yii, has been lending him support since he turned professional recently.
“It’s a big challenge because I have to arrange everything on my own. I really appreciate the help of my sister and family, so now I just need to focus on training and producing the results,” he added.
Zii Jia, who has yet to hit form ahead of the Asian Team Badminton Championships in Shah Alam from Feb 15 to Feb 20, stated he is currently training with two other professional shuttlers – Liew Daren and Soong Joo Ven.
He said he is more comfortable preparing away from the National Sports Institute, although he did not rule out the possibility of using their facilities in the future.