SHAH ALAM: Following his training stint in South Korea, men's singles Lee Zii Jia will likely head to Thailand next to continue his training programme abroad.
With this arrangement in the pipeline, former All England champion Zii Jia will likely get an opportunity to spar with world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
His coach, Wong Tat Meng, disclosed that the overseas training programme is part of the preparation for the Paris Olympics in July.
"After Korea, we might choose another country. I want Zii Jia to learn and train in a different environment.
"Previously, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew went to Thailand to train with their national player, Kunlavut.
"So, we might go there for Zii Jia to train with Kunlavut since I also know the coaches in Thailand," said Tat Meng.
Previously, Zii Jia spent 11 days from Jan 31-Feb 9 undergoing a special training camp with the Korean national squad at the Badminton Korea Association (BKA) centre in Jincheon, Seoul.
Commenting on the training in Korea, Tat Meng said he was pleased to see Zii Jia open up to embracing changes in the training programmes he was trying to implement.
"Korea has eight singles players, but when we were there, only Jeon Hyeok Jin was absent as he was participating in tournaments in Thailand and Azerbaijan.
"During his time in Korea, Zii Jia trained with players of varying skill levels, including left-handed ones.
"This is good for Zii Jia, instead of just training with the same players here in Malaysia.
"I see Zii Jia is open to changes, which makes it easier for me to plan his next training programme," Tat Meng added.
Zii Jia is currently with the national squad competing in the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) at the Setia City Convention Centre (SCCC) here.