Lee Chong Wei is set ring changes in his new role with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), and he anticipates not every shuttler will be fond of his methods.

Lee was recently appointed as the BAM performance committee chairman, and the 42-year-old wants to use his new authority to add some steel into the players’ discipline.

This includes being punctual for every training session, being focused during on-court drills and not skipping any sessions.

“I know there will be many unhappy faces, but we need to instill a high level of discipline across the entire national team. Discipline is an issue that exists among the national shuttlers. They cannot become top players without discipline,” he told the New Straits Times. 

Lee’s comments come in the aftermath of Malaysia’s outing at the recent Asia Team Championships, where both the men’s and women’s contingent were knocked out in the quarter-finals.

The national association decided to go with a young line-up for the men’s team, with Justin Hoh leading the line in the men’s singles.

The team came unstuck against a full-strength Japan, who comfortably romped to a 3-0 victory last week.

As a result, Malaysia did not secure automatic qualification to the Thomas Cup in April, but will still make the cut by virtue of their world rankings.

Lee’s comments come from years of personal sacrifice during his 20-years playing career.

Former national coach Rashid Sidek used to admit that right after winning a big tournament, Lee used to request his coaches for a training session the next day right after landing back in Malaysia.

The Penangite was also among the first to arrive at training, and the last to leave.