Daren proceeds while Zulfadli crashes out of Swiss Open – Badminton News
The Malaysian Men’s singles expert Daren Liew managed to proceed into the pre quarter-finals while Zulfadli Zulkiffli crashed out of Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold on March 14, 2012.
The young Zulfadli lost his second round match despite of putting great resistance against Stilian Makarski but his compatriot Daren Liew had all the reasons to celebrate after sealing a straight-set victory against Jen Hao Hsu of Chinese Taipei.
World Number 37 Daren, who raised his rankings after superb performance in All England Open, continued with his top form and eased into third round of Swiss Open where he will be up against Pedro Martins of Portugal.
The 25-year old Daren took some time to get settled in his second round encounter with Jen Hao as he bagged the first match point with some distress.
He had a sluggish start which allowed his Taipei rival to score 19 points but Daren woke up timely and ended the first segment of the show with decisive 21-19 score on the board.
He wrapped the show in 40th minute by registering a significant 21-8 margin in the second and final set of the match.
Meanwhile, the other Malaysian contender Zulfadli Zulkiffli, who is in transition from junior to senior level, squandered the golden chance to register his presence in Swiss Open.
However he did not allow his challenger to win the match with ease and dragged him all the way through three sets. He stretched his legs and arms to full for 57 minutes.
The nerve-racking first set ended in his favour when he surpassed Makarski on the score board with final figures of 22-20.
Zulfadli was inches away from a straight set victory when he scored 20 points in second set but he frittered away his first set win. His opponent Stilian Makarski snatched the crucial second set by a tight yet decisive score of 22-20.
The third set also belonged to the Bulgarian shuttler who this time left Zulfadli behind with a distinctive four point’s difference. He sealed his 2-1 victory with score board flashing final score of 21-17.
Both Malaysian singles experts were given chance to prove their worth in absence of prime shuttlers Lee Chong Wei and Hafiz Hashim and they have earned high regards for their recent performance.
The youngster Zulfadli registered his mark despite of his short run while his compatriot Daren Liew is still racing in the Swiss Open.
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