KUALA LUMPUR – The door remains open for professional badminton player Lee Zii Jia to return to the Road to Gold (RTG) programme, said its coordinator Datuk Stuart Ramalingam.
This statement follows 25-year-old Zii Jia’s decision to abstain from signing the letter of commitment (LoC) for the elite initiative.
Speaking to Scoop, Stuart stated that the ball is in Zii Jia’s court, and if there is a change of heart, discussions can be initiated.
“If there is a change of heart Zii Jia can always get in touch with us and all parties can have a conversation about it, but that is solely on his side.
“In RTG we have to focus our resources on other athletes that are part of the programme.
“The decision has been made by Zii Jia and we should move on,” added Stuart.
Kedah-born Zii Jia, yesterday, decided against signing the LoC, which is a prerequisite in exchange for the benefits and services provided to the athletes under the elite programme.
Stuart acknowledged that Zii Jia’s decision not to sign the LoC is a personal choice and that RTG respects his stance.
“We respect his decision. This is a process that we put in place and have worked on 30, 40 athletes, including the hockey players when they were a part of the programme.
“This programme is until the Los Angeles Olympic Games because RTG has been set up for two Olympic cycles. For now, the focus is mainly on Paris.
“Following that, we will make further decisions post-Paris because obviously, the criteria will change in RTG because it (the LA Olympics) is four years away (from Paris).
“There will be more long-term decision-making when it comes to LA,” said Stuart, who is also the chief executive officer of the Malaysian Football League.
He revealed the overall tone of the conversation with Zii Jia’s management team, including his sister and manager Lee Zii Yii and coaches Wong Tat Meng and Liew Daren, was positive.
Since Zii Jia’s team expressed a lack of a need for the top-up services offered by RTG, there was no further discussion on other matters. – November 15, 2023