Just like in 2024, the national association needs the services of Lee Zii Jia as they aim for Thomas Cup glory when the competition takes place in Denmark in two months.

Two years ago, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) had to fork out an ‘image rights’ fee for every match Zii Jia played at the biennial competition, due to the shuttler donning the national jersey with conflicting sponsors.

This time around, it was new performance committee chairman Lee Chong Wei who met the professional shuttler at the ABM Academy on Friday to discuss his inclusion into the national contingent.

Zii Jia is expected to give his answer in a week, with the shuttler also confirming his team will issue a statement.

The offer to Zii Jia comes despite the Kedah-born still not fully fit, having conceded a walkover at the Thailand Masters and pulled out of the upcoming German Open.

“He’s pulled out of Germany, we hope he can go to the Swiss Open (March 10-15) and play well. We hope he takes care of himself and gets a physio to assist him in his recovery. I told Zii Jia we have a new management and President and so we will decide what we can offer him should he agree to be part of the team.

“His inclusion will provide a balance to the team. He can play as the second or third singles and would make the team more solid,” added Chong Wei.

If Zii Jia recovers swiftly, he only has two tournaments at the Swiss Open and Orleans Masters (March 17-22) to get quality game time before the Thomas Cup comes along from April 24-May 3.

It is worth noting, that back in 2024, the now world number 64 won three of his five matches to help Malaysia reach the semi-finals.