Badminton

Unlucky Daren faces Olympic champ in world meet first round

KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttler Liew Daren was left cursing his luck after landing the toughest opening round draw in his fifth World Championships in Tokyo from Aug 22-28.

The 35-year-old is staring at a first-round exit after being pitted against world No 1 Viktor Axelsen who had lost only once in 36 matches this year.

Since his debut in the world meet in Guangzhou, 2013, Daren has never failed to clear his first hurdle, and his most memorable outing was winning bronze in Nanjing in 2018.

The independent player's frustration is understandable considering that the draw has first-round match-ups between unheralded players. For example, Mauritius' Georges Julien Paul versus

Mexico's Luis Armando Montoya Navarro, and Bulgaria's Daniel Nikolov versus Spain's Luis Enrique Penalver.

"Of all the 63 competitors in the draw, I have just got myself the worst opponent to face, judging from current form," lamented Daren.

"But being unseeded, that's how it is. You just have to prepare for the worst because you could be drawn against anyone."

Though Daren had lost all of his five previous encounters against Axelsen, the last being at the Thailand Open in January last year, he is looking forward to playing the Dane. The only time Daren defeated Axelsen was in the French Open final in 2012 when the latter was still a rising star.

"I'm not going to throw in the towel even before stepping on court. I got to believe that nothing is impossible and take him on with a positive mindset," said Daren who reached the Thailand Open semi-finals in May.

"I feel it's good that I face him in the first round rather than the second. Most players tend to struggle early as they try to adapt to the venue.

"I'm not saying that I can win, but every top player has an off day too. Anything can happen, especially during a major tournament," he added.

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