Has Lee Zii Jia painted himself into a corner?

 

 

National shuttler Lee Zii Jia is stranded, trapped by a bitter battle against the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to go independent.

How hard could the fight be for him to avert the two-year ban in the international circuit for prematurely breaking ties with BAM? Very.

According to BAM president Norza Zakaria, Zii Jia’s “priority is different” and “he looks to have made up his mind”.

There’s another dark side to the fallout: Will he get entangled in another contractual dispute with his new club?

Zii Jia, 23, would not have quit the national team had he not signed up with his new employer. So, rejoining BAM is highly unlikely.

How is he going to smash his way out of the mess that he himself has created?

Zii Jia knew the rules, having signed contracts with BAM as a national junior player and elite squad member, and tried to skirt them.

Will he appeal the BAM ban, seek judicial review or continue to look like he had his balloons burst at a party?

Still, let’s not forget he is human, and a young human at that. His sporting journey has just begun at the top level and he needs help to save his career.

At issue is the world No 7 and All-England champion abruptly abandoning the national team to go independent and wanting to represent the country.

BAM punished their best asset by barring him from Badminton World Federation (BWF) tournaments for two years.

As it stands, Zii Jia cannot as an independent player play in majors like the Olympics, world championships, Asian Games, Thomas Cup and Sudirman Cup under the Malaysian flag.

Assuming he relocates to another country, he can only play for his new association, and not for Malaysia, in world tour tournaments.

There is a precedent of independent shuttlers playing in majors after their contracts were cut by their original associations.

That happens when an agreement is reached with the association that originally cut their contract or had not renewed the deal.

So, if a Malaysian player had his contract ended by BAM there is a precedent of the now independent player coming to an arrangement with the national body to enter him in tournaments under the Malaysian flag, including majors.

If an independent player hypothetically goes to a new association like the UAE, he would have to wait 12 months, and has to play under that new flag, but not in majors.

In Zii Jia’s case, it’s the reverse as he resigned, citing he felt pressured to be in the national team that supposedly had a regimented lifestyle, and BAM sanctioned him.

We will probably hear his side of the story this week even as more scorn is heaped on BAM amid some optimism in world badminton that both parties will come to some form of arrangement soon.

BWF is staying out of the controversy for the time being, with its secretary-general, Thomas Lund, telling FMT: “We have equal concern for the parties involved, but this is a matter between the individual and the member association.

“BWF do not have sufficient information from each of the two sides in order for us to make a comment at this moment.”

Might Zii Jia have painted himself into a corner?

The crisis has exposed many of the challenges faced by BAM and the players, the complexities of which are not known to most people.

Is the power dynamics between BAM and player so off balance? Is it all about protecting the bottom line and making money?

Or is it about younger athletes beginning to stand up for themselves?

The mixture of incomprehension, ridicule and anger over the Zii Jia affair failed to consider that BAM had invested a lot of money into developing players from their junior years.

Zii Jia has been groomed since 13 and he is today a magnet that draws sponsors to make multi-million ringgit guarantees.

Last year, BAM secured a five-year RM55 million sponsorship deal with Yonex on the heels of a RM60 million six-year pact with Victor.

Sponsors are attracted by the philosophy that talent must be nurtured, it must be fed, it must be well looked after.

When the star of the national team walks away and cuts a deal with another sponsor, BAM’s sponsors will feel short-changed.

Contractually, these sponsors are free to reduce their financial commitment since the poster boy will no longer promote their brands.

The monetary cutbacks will inevitably affect grassroots programmes, salaries of coaches, player allowances and other operational costs.

That will probably mar the reputation of Zii Jia on whom big money was spent over the last 11 years to make him successful.

Former badminton great Rashid Sidek was criticised for saying Zii Jia had to be penalised to avoid an exodus of players from the national team in the future.

He added that showing disrespect to BAM and holding them to ransom was unbecoming of Zii Jia.

Rashid was spot on because the need for regulation is often defined by the success of the project.

If there is one message to be taken from the Zii Jia episode, it is the need to understand that we can only make progress if we all work together.

Yet the struggle does not end here. A modern sports industry must offer long-term stability and ensure that another Zii Jia story will never happen again. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.