Badminton: Daren takes Taufik to the distance before losing in thriller
Top News 5:22 PM
PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei sailed into the second round of the Indonesian Open but it was Liew Daren who stole the limelight by stretching Indonesian ace Taufik Hidayat in another epic three-match thriller in Jakarta yesterday.
Daren, who many expected would surrender meekly to Taufik in front of the boisterous Indonesian fans, fought tooth and nail before finally going down 28-30, 23-21, 12-21 in 76 minutes.
This is the second time that Daren, ranked 64th in the world, had taken Taufik to the distance. Daren had lost 24-22, 12-21, 18-21 in the first round of the Singapore Open last week.
Despite the defeats, there is a slight improvement in the lanky Daren’s game.
“At least we can see some improvement in Daren’s game and it’s a good sign that he may be catching up with the top players,” said national singles coach Rashid Sidek yesterday.
Close encounter: Liew Daren fought tooth and nail with home favourite Taufik Hidayat before losing 28-30, 23-21, 12-21 in the first round of the Indonesian Open in Jakarta Thursday.
“For him to take Taufik to three games in two tournaments in a row is a positive step and he should continue to train harder and work on rectifying his mistakes. Hopefully, he will reach the top some day.”
Earlier, Chong Wei had little trouble disposing of Indonesian youngster Tommy Sugiarto 21-16, 21-8 in 32 minutes to check into the second round.
Rashid even commented that Chong Wei “should not have any problems winning the Indonesian Open based on his current form”.
“Chong Wei is probably one of the most consistent and in-form shuttlers in the world now and I can’t see anyone troubling him before Sunday’s final,” said Rashid.
“Lin Dan is the only one who can beat Chong Wei but as long as he plays his regular game he is capable of beating anyone.”
Lin Dan too had an easy first round match, dispatching Indonesia’s Alamsyah Yunus 21-12, 21-15 as all top eight seeds, except for Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana, checked into the second round.
Sixth seed Boonsak lasted only eight minutes against China’s Du Pengyu before he was forced to retire due to an injury. Boonsak was trailing 8-11 when he conceded the walkover.
Unheralded Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan caused the biggest upset of the day when she packed off second seed and world No. 2 Wang Xin of China 15-21, 21-15, 21-19 in the women’s singles event.
Wang Xin came into this tournament fresh from winning the Singapore Open title last week.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 5:22 PM.
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