Kuala Lumpur: Muar City BC were crowned Resorts World Genting Purple League champions despite losing to Puchong United BC 8-9 in the final match that was held at the Arena of Stars in Genting on Sunday.
Continue reading Muar City become Resorts World Genting Purple League champions despite loss
Ipoh: Former world junior champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli will take on top seed Daren Liew in the men’s semi-final clash of the Perak Open badminton tournament on Saturday.
KUALA LUMPUR: Goh Soon Huat – the back-up shuttler from Malaysia will be part of the Malaysia Thomas cup team after beating
Tan Chun Seang (former BAM player) 21-14, 21-13 in the three-day selections trials at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara on Friday. 
Misbun Ramdan Misbun and former world junior champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli pulled out of the trials due to personal health reasons.
During the trial, Soon Huat showed his fighting spirit and steely determination, and he is likely to be join the Thomas Cup team as the fourth men’s singles player.
Continue reading Soon Huat Took the Final Spot in Malaysia’s Thomas Cup squad (pic)
PETALING JAYA: Even the luggage delay could not derail singles shuttler Liew Daren and men’s doubles pair Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah from making superb starts at the German Open in Mulheim.
Daren and V Shem-Khim Wah arrived in Germany on Sunday but their baggage only arrived on Monday night.
But it didn’t matter as world No. 38 Daren, in particular, set out to prove a point following a disappointing first-round loss in the Malaysian Open last month.
Continue reading Malaysians off to flying start in German Open (pic)
KUALA LUMPUR: A lot is at stake for singles shuttler Liew Daren when he takes part in the back-to-back German Open Grand Prix Gold in Mulheim from Feb 25-March 2 and the All-England from March 4-9 in Birmingham.
A good showing in these Europe tournaments will strengthen his position as one of the members of the team for the Thomas Cup Finals in May in New Delhi. It will restore his self-confidence and it will also stop his world ranking from slipping further.
Based on the draw for the German Open released on Tuesday and in the absence of players from China in the tournament, world No. 36 Daren has a good chance to redeem himself.
Daren, who is the only Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) singles player going for the GP Gold, has been drawn in the same quarter as third-seed Hu Yun of Hong Kong and 11th seed Rajiv Ouseph of England.
Continue reading European stints crucial for Daren’s Thomas Cup berth (pic)
PETALING JAYA; After an underwhelming start to the year, Liew Daren is feeling refreshed, mentally and physically, and is ready to step up his game.
And his first goal, will be to improve from his current lowly rank of No. 36 in the world to a more respectable position.
The 26-year-old was ranked as high as No. 10 in the world in 2012 but a spate of bad luck, poor form and injuries saw him hurtle down the rankings.
Continue reading Refreshed Daren hopes for a better year (pic)
BUKIT JALIL: When all others fell on the wayside, the ever-dependable world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei stayed rock steady to reach the men’s singles second round at the Maybank Malaysian Open at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
On Wednesday, top seed Chong Wei hardly raised a sweat when he disposed of Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark 21-7, 21-13 in just 35 minutes.
He will take on former world junior champion Wang Zhengming of China in the second round on Thursday.
Chong Wei is once again the sole survivor in the men’s singles after both Liew Daren and Chong Wei Feng were sent spinning out of the tournament.
KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei has promised to bounce back stronger at the Malaysian Open after failing to get off to a dream start in the season-opening Korean Open in Seoul.
The 31-year-old shuttler went down 14-21, 15-21 to China’s Chen Long in Sunday’s 56-minute men’s singles final, thus crushing his hopes of winning the Korean Open for the fourth time.
It was Chen Long’s eighth win over Chong Wei in 15 meetings – and his fourth consecutive victory over the Malaysian – in a period of 14 months.
The powerful Chen Long, who is trying to fill in the shoes of five-time world champion Lin Dan, produced an efficient display to give himself an early 25th birthday present.
Chen Long, who turns 25 on Jan 18, accelerated to a 7-0 first-game lead in just six minutes – showcasing his brilliance at the net and superb execution of smashes from the baseline.
BUKIT JALIL: This could be a bountiful year indeed for men’s singles shuttler Liew Daren – if his mother and the Chinese horoscope are to be believed!
Daren said that his mother, Woo Yoke Bee, believes that the year 2014 would see him “making lots of money”.
And the shuttler, who doesn’t believe in horoscopes, hopes that his mother is right, though.
“According to the Chinese calendar, this is the year of the horse. I was born in the year of the rabbit and my mother told me that ‘rabbits’ will do well this year.
“I do not believe all this but, hopefully, she is right,” he laughed.
The 26-year-old Daren could do with some good fortune, having gone through a bad patch towards the tailend of last year.
Continue reading Daren hoping for some good fortune this year (pic)
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