Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif and Liew Daren set to meet in semi-final of Kuala Lumpur Open 2011
Malaysia’s Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif and Liew Daren are set to meet in the semi-final of the Kuala Lumpur Open 2011, as they have defeated their opponents in the Men’s Singles quarter-final stage on 9 April.
Latif thrashed the senior shuttler, Tan Chun Seang, while Daren proved his worth against the talented, Mohammad Syawal Ismail.
The young Malaysian is one of the most talented shuttlers in the back-up squad of the Men’s singles in Malaysia. Latif is working hard under the supervision of the Indonesian coach, Hendrawan. The young shuttler has made some tremendous improvement over
the last couple of years.
In the Kuala Lumpur Open, Latif defeated many players of the national squad including, Chong Wei Feng and Chan Kwong Beng. However, his victory over Chun Seang is very important regarding his promotion to the Men’s Singles national squad.
The Malaysian established a wonderful lead of 11-6 in the first part of the opening game. His shot selection and execution of strokes was perfect, as he spared no chance for Chun Seang to come-back in the game even after the one-minute interval. Latif finished
up the first set with a remarkable margin of 21-12.
His senior opponent bounced back in the second set and leveled the match by winning it with a tight margin of 22-20. In the deciding set, Latif remained focused and manipulated all weaknesses of his opponent, as he remained ahead of Chun Seang throughout
the set and won it with a narrow margin of 21-19. The final score of the match was, 21-12, 20-22 and 21-19.
In another quarter-final match of the Men’s Singles, Daren managed to win against the aggressive Ismail in a tight two-set match. The top seed had to work hard against the young opponent to win the opening set by a 21-19 margin.
The second game was absolutely thrilling in that it provided superb entertainment for the crowd. The game progressed with equal pace and nobody could manage to take a considerable lead. The score reached 25-25 where Daren scored two points in a row and won
the second set by a 27-25 margin. The concluding score of the straight-set match was 21-19 and 27-25.
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