Friday March 8, 2013

Daren knows his lack of fitness is cause of first round loss

MALAYSIA’S Liew Daren could have turned the tables on former world champion Chen Jin of China in the first round of the All-England on Wednesday – if only he was fitter.

The 25-year-old Daren knows it and has vowed to work harder in his physical training programme.

Daren actually had Chen Jin by the jugular in the second game with some fantastic attacking play, winning it 21-19 after losing the first 15-21. But Daren was a spent force in the decider, going down 11-21 in an hour and seven minutes.

“It was a physical game. Chen Jin was always pushing me deep into the baseline and it was exhausting,” said Daren.

“I made him uncomfortable and nervous in the second game but I failed to ride on that momentum. He regained his composure in the third game and I could not keep up with his pace.

“Physically, I could not match him although I’ve improved. It shows that I still have some work to do.”

French Open champion Daren doesn’t see his first-round defeat in the All-England as a sign that his form has dropped.

“I reached the quarter-finals last year but, this time, I didn’t clear the first round. Some may see it as a drop in form but, to me, it was just a tough draw to start with. I played more maturely but lacked speed to match Chen Jin,” he said.

Daren added that he was looking forward to the Swiss Open in Basel next week and his initial target is a quarter-final appearance.

World No. 12 Daren is in the same half as top seed Du Pengyu of China and two others Malaysians – Mohd Arif Abdul Latif and Misbun Ramdan Misbun.

“I’m still confident that I can go far in the game. I don’t want to worry too much about being compared to world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei. There is a gap and I hope to narrow it but without putting undue pressure on myself. Hopefully, by end of this year, I’ll break into the top 10,” said Daren.

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Friday March 8, 2013

Daren knows his lack of fitness is cause of first round loss