Daren Liew puts up superb show but loses to Kenichi Tago in Thomas Cup Preliminary Round
Malaysia’s back-up player Daren Liew lost to the higher ranked Kenichi Tago of Japan but not before putting up a tremendous show in the Thomas Cup Preliminary Round in Macau, on Friday, February 17.
Daren, who has been positioned at number 45 in the Men’s Singles world placements, played the second Men’s Singles contest in team-event’s semi-final match between Malaysia and Japan. The Malaysian shuttlers failed to rise to the occasion as they could not dominate their Japanese rivals and lost the fight with a 0-3 margin.
Daren was up against the World Number Seven Tago, who was the favourite for this match. However, the Malaysian gave him a run for his money by putting up superb show of top class badminton.
Nevertheless, Daren failed to control the pace of rallies in the ending phases of both games and lost to his rival with a tight margin.
Right from the starting points, both shuttlers played fast and attacking badminton and remained toe-to-toe until the break in the first game.
After the break, the tempo of the game continued in the similar fashions as both players showed their impressive skills and reached at the dramatic stage of 28-28. At this stage, Tago played slightly better game and won the set with a 30-28 score on the board.
In the following set, both men again played at the same level and reached at the concluding phase without taking a considerable lead. Tago again remained lucky in scoring the ending points and won the set with a margin of 21-19.
The Japanese won the battle in straight games with a dramatic score of 30-28 and 21-19.
After the match Daren said, "I was not under any pressure even though Kenichi was a better player, and I managed to play well. I am satisfied with my performance but I hope to play better if I am given another chance."
While talking about Daren’s performance, the Singles coach, Rashid Sidek said that it will boost his confidence.
He said, "It is a good experience for Daren as he played solidly. Kenichi has a lot of experience on the international stage and this performance will give Daren a boost.”
Malaysia will play against Indonesia today in a match to determine third and fourth position.
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