Badminton News: Encouraged by reaching the semi-finals of his first World Tour tournament in three years, Liew Daren is looking to break into the top 20 of the world rankings this season.
The veteran singles player’s recent heroics at the Thailand Open in Bangkok last week propelled him to world No. 1. 28.
“I can’t remember how long I was out of the top 30. Maybe two years. Now I want to go higher, I want to try and break into the top 20,” Daren explained.
“I want to keep improving and see how badly I need it,” he added.
Liew Daren is also happy to still be able to give young players a hard time.
He grabbed attention with his fighting performances in Bangkok, especially in the first round where he stunned Indian Cup winner Thomas HS Prannoy in a grueling 65 minutes and in the quarter-finals where he beat Zhao Junpeng of China. also in three games.
Daren then put his sparring partner, Lee Zii Jia in trouble before losing in the last four.
The 34-year-old says his training partner with Zii Jia has made the difference in his current form.
His motivation also comes from training with an Indonesian coach, Indra Wijaya and having a good support team.
Zii Jia himself reached the highest ranking of his career after winning the 2022 Thailand Open title.
Daren will now turn his attention to the Indonesia Masters tournament from June 7-12 in Jakarta.
He had a tough opener against Chinese world number 26 Lu Guangzu.
A victory will pit Daren against world number 3, Anders Antonsen of Denmark or South Korea’s Heo Kwang-hee (world number 33).
The Malaysian could then face Singaporean world champion Loh Kean Yew if he reaches the quarter-finals.
Despite the tough draw, Daren should not be underestimated in terms of his recent fighting performance and his hunger to be the best.
Article Tags: Liew Daren, Indonesia Masters 2022
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/badminton/liew-daren-target-20-big-the-world-this-season
