However, Choong Hann stressed that he and the coaching staff at BAM will ensure the issue does not jeopardise the training of players by focusing fully on the talent-building process.

He said the attention of the coaching staff so far has not been transfixed on Zii Jia alone.

“Players may get distracted but we have been given the responsibility to mould all the players and when Zii Jia was in our care, he also received our full commitment,” he told reporters after finishing the Federal Territory chapter of the 2022 Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay today.

“This does not mean we overlooked others and it is not as if that it is only now we shift our responsibilities or scrutiny to other players … we continue to work as usual.”

On Friday, BAM decided not to register Zii Jia for any international tournament for two years starting Jan 18, following the All-England champion’s decision to resign and move on as an independent player.

To date, Zii Jia has not made any statement regarding the BAM penalty. BWF rules state all entries in international tourneys must go through the national association.

On talk that Ng Tze Yong would replace Zii Jia as the main men’s singles card, Choong Hann said the Johor-born player should be given time.

“We do not want to pressure him to reach the level we want, because understandably, he has a direction, ambition and time frame to improve. We will continue to groom and give him a fair amount of time to improve his performance,” he said.