Ramalingam said he and badminton legend Lee Chong Wei had contacted Zii Jia and his coach, Wong Tat Meng, to arrange a meeting to discuss the shuttler’s future.

“For now, Zii Jia will remain part of Road to Gold until we meet and decide on plans moving forward. There is no change to his status,” he said at a press conference here.

Last Wednesday, Zii Jia said he planned to take a temporary break from badminton after having suffered a second first-round loss in as many tournaments.

He told the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in an interview that he will “temporarily quit badminton” after losing to India’s Lakhsya Sen at the Indonesia Open 2023. He lost to China’s Weng Hong Yang in the Singapore Open prior to that.

Last month, the 25-year-old went down to Taiwan’s Lin Chun-Yi in the second round of the Malaysia Open 2023.

Ramalingam said there may be uncertainty surrounding Zii Jia’s performance and recent announcement, but reiterated that he was still a part of the programme.

“We believe that he will come back, based on a timeline that is comfortable to him and his coach.

“At the end of June or in early July, we will have that meeting with both the coach and athlete and report back to the Road to Gold committee,” he said.

Meanwhile, youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh said there was no preferential treatment given to athletes under the programme, when asked if retaining Zii Jia would make him the initiative’s “golden child”.

“All our athletes are golden children. We give them all the same allowances, support, and services to ensure they have the opportunity to win (the gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris).”