PETALING JAYA: Liew Daren’s woes continued as he failed to make the men’s singles main draw of the Japan Open badminton championships in Tokyo.
On Tuesday, the 27-year-old Daren started well by beating France’s Thomas Rouxel 21-17, 21-18 in the first qualifying round.
In his second match, Daren found five-time world champion Lin Dan too hot to handle.
He put a brief resistance but later wilted to lose 18-21, 15-21 to Lin Dan, who will go on to meet compatriot Xue Song in the first round of the main draw.
Malaysia’s challenge will now rest on the shoulders of world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei and Chong Wei Feng.
Chong Wei, the winner for the last two years, will meet Taiwanese qualifier Shih Kuei-chun in the opening round while Wei Feng faces sixth seed Son Wan-ho of South Korea.
In the men’s doubles, Lim Khim Wah-Ow Yao Han also failed to make the grade after losing 13-21, 18-21 to Japan’s Takuto Inoue-Yuki Kaneko in the second qualifying round.
Two other Malaysian pairs – world No. 7 Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong and Goh V Shem-Tan Boon Heong – will be in action in the main draw.
In the women’s doubles, Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei are in the main draw while Chan Peng Soon-Lai Pei Jing are playing in the mixed doubles main draw.
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