Daren Liew fails to make his impact in 2012 BWF Superseries Finals – Badminton Feature
Malaysia’s talented shuttler Daren Liew started BWF Superseries Finals as country’s second biggest hope after the Men’s Singles ace Lee Chong Wei but he failed to live up to the expectations. He could not clear even group stage of this prestigious badminton
tournament.
World Number 15 Daren was subjected to a tough trial as he was placed in Group B which comprised maestros like Chen Long, Kenichi Tago and Hans Kristian Vittinghus.
The Malaysian opened his campaign against the Japanese player and faced a woeful defeat in his opening match.
Though, Daren stood tall against the World Number five Kenichi for 47 minutes but still he could not finish this encounter in a favourable manner. He lost first set with a notable deficit and then failed to make amends in the following game.
Kenichi did not give his opponent enough time to get settled and confounded him with an intensive attack. He established an unassailable lead in no time and then relished an upper hand all the way to final moments.
The prime Japanese player proved himself superior in all areas of the game and registered an overwhelming figure of 21-15.
However, it was not an easy win for him in the second set as Daren Liew put an honest effort and made this segment a memorable contest. The Malaysian youngster played with laudable conviction and gained an early advantage.
He matched his rival’s skills until third quarter of the set but lack of good finishing skills cost him a vital match point. He blundered in crucial moments and surrendered after reading 18-21 score on the board.
Daren’s next challenge was to surpass another world beater Chen Long who was second seeded shuttler of this esteemed tournament. He spent one hour and nine minutes on the court but still could not tip the scale in his favour.
The Malaysian contender kick-started his campaign with an amazing performance. He displayed commendable fighting spirit and ruled the court in opening game.
Initially, World Number two Chinese campaigner unleashed a flurry of productive strokes and it was felt that he will not find any trouble in first set. He was enjoying an upper hand just before the interval when Daren Liew turned the tables with a staggering
knock.
His backlash was so strong that Chen Long did not have enough time to employ an effective counterattack strategy. He kept moving forward at top gear and left the opposing shuttler far behind with a tight yet decisive margin of 25-23.
Unexpectedly, Daren Liew looked completely grounded in very next game. He could pocket only eight points in this crucial set and allowed his challenger to level the match score.
The Chinese shuttler set the foundation of his dominance immediately in the beginning and kept his competitor at lower end. He mounted pressure by clinching vital points without any interruption and then capitalised this psychological edge to put an overwhelming
figure of 21-8.
Meanwhile, Daren lost his nerves and failed to bounce back into the contest. He kept trailing behind on the points table throughout the third set and finally gave up this futile chase after reading 12-21 total.
With this 2-1 defeat, Daren’s third group match became trivial and he booked ticket to home. After the ill-timed injury of Chong Wei, all responsibilities were on his shoulder in Men’s Singles event but he could not lift this burden of expectations and crashed
out.
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