SEPANG: Lee Zii Jia's coach, Wong Tat Meng, said the world No. 6's mental strength has improved, and this led to him winning the Olympic men's singles bronze medal.
Tat Meng, who returned to Kuala Lumpur today with Zii Jia, said this was evident in Zii Jia's come-from-behind victory against India's Lakshya Sen in the third placing match on Monday. The Malaysian beat Lakshya 13-21, 21-16, 21-11
"This is a strong return from Zii Jia especially at a huge tournament after losing in the semi-final (to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn).
"He managed to come back quickly to win the bronze. You can see the difference between his previous performance and the bronze medal playoff. I'm proud of him," Tat Meng told the media after arriving at KLIA this morning.
Now that Zii Jia's Paris Olympic campaign is over, will
Tat Meng remain as the independent player's coach?
Tat Meng only said that he has planned for the rest of Zii Jia's tournaments this year. "He will participate in a few tournaments after this, the first one is the Japan Open."