2-year ban on Zii Jia is vindictive, says Wong Chen

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PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) two-year ban on national shuttler Lee Zii Jia is “vindictive” and will only see Malaysians losing out, says Subang MP Wong Chen.

An avid fan of the sport, Wong suggested that an appropriate ban for Zii Jia should be six months, taking into account how Japanese star Kento Momota was only given a one-year ban as punishment for gambling in 2016.

“Subsequently, Kento used the one year off to train harder, and he roared back and became a world champion,” said Wong in a Facebook post.

“A two-year ban (on Zii Jia) is simply vindictive. Most professional athletes have only a 10-year career, so taking two years away is just too much.

“Therefore, this punishment can only be interpreted as an attempt to destroy Zii Jia’s budding badminton career. And the real loser will be Malaysian badminton,” added the PKR lawmaker.

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