PETALING JAYA: Lee Zii Jia has 'gone black' on social media, setting up an all-black profile picture on his personal Facebook page.

       This comes just hours after the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) announced that the National No. 1 will not be registered for all Badminton World Federation-sanctioned tournaments for two years beginning Jan 18.

       At the time of writing, the post has garnered over 37,000 likes, almost 5,000 comments and more than 2,000 shares, with many Malaysians showing support for Lee.

       "Zii Jia, stay strong. We always support you. Please take care and never give up, we are always behind you," Facebook user Wunderschon Sakura said, garnering over 450 likes on their comment.

       "Please stay strong. We know that you had a plan before you even tendered your letter, so please move forward. Hope you can still represent the country," user Angela Kua said.

       With 5,000 comments on his post, the general consensus was Malaysians encouraging the shuttler to not give up on his dreams and hoping that he would still be able to represent the country in future tournaments.

       The decision by BAM comes after the All-England champion Zii Jia's decision to quit the national team and turn professional.

       "BAM have reached the decision to not register him for any tournaments for the period until Jan 18, 2024," said BAM deputy president Jaharbedeen Mohd Yunoos.

       BAM have also decided to not register the recently-turned professional Goh Jin Wei for a period of two years starting Oct 31. The former women's singles shuttler had recently joined professional club KLRC.