PETALING JAYA: Professional singles shuttler Liew Daren continues to soldier on despite enduring two weeks of disappointments in Japan.
The 35-year-old Daren is one of the two singles players representing Malaysia at the Denmark Open from Oct 18-23 in Odense, followed by the France Open (Oct 25-30) in Paris and Hylo Open in Saarbrucken, Germany, from Nov 1-6.
“My outing in Tokyo was not so good ... my next is Denmark and I’ll be happy if I can produce the level that I know I can play,” said Daren.
Daren was unfortunate to be drawn against eventual champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the first round of the World Championships but in the Japan Open, he found Japan’s 21-year-old youngster Kodai Naraoka a tough nut to crack in the first round.
And it did not help when Daren’s physical condition was not at its best.
“There were problems but I’m not going to use it an excuse for my defeats. Right now, I don’t have specific goals. I feel good with the way I’m playing right now and I’m still going to Europe as I still have the support of my sponsors and fans too,” he added.
Except for world No. 10 Chen Long of China, all others in the top 10 will be competing in Odense.
World No. 1 Axelsen will be the player to beat at his den while the others hoping to turn their fortunes around in Europe besides world No. 4 Lee Zii Jia are Kento Momota of Japan (No. 2); Anders Antonsen of Denmark (No. 3); Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan (No. 5); Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting (No. 6) and Jonatan Christie (No. 8); Loh Kean Yew of Singapore (No. 8); and Lakshya Sen from India (No. 9).
China will also be banking on Zhao Jungpeng, Shi Yuqi and Lu Guangzu to ruffle some feathers.
Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong is currently ranked third onthe reserve list.
The last Malaysian singles shuttler to have won the title is Lee Chong Wei in 2012.
