In fact, Rashid felt the world No 5 performed well at the All England, adding that the shuttler isn’t too far away from reaching peak form.

“Talking about Zii Jia’s progress, if we look at how he did at the All England, he played quite well. At the German Open, it looked like he performed quite consistently too. He did well to reach the semis,” he said.

Zii Jia failed to defend his All England title after losing to India’s Lakhsya Sen while in the German Open, he fell to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

Rashid said Zii Jia’s performance could also be due to pressure from within BAM but added the shuttler now needs to be more independent and professional to improve.

Commenting on Ng Tze Yong, who lost in the second round of the Swiss Open yesterday, Rashid said his stock is on the rise despite still being new.

“Although he lost, he went all the way to the rubber. You could see a rise in his performance but we can’t expect him to continue winning. Bit by bit, he will learn. I feel that is better for him as he learns from his experiences.

“I think he is a player that we can count on in the Thomas Cup or other team events,” he said.