Badminton: Liew Daren in upbeat mood ahead of Axiata Cup semis

PETALING JAYA: Despite his woeful recent form, world No. 14 Liew Daren is optimistic he can lead Malaysia into the final of the Axiata Cup this weekend.

Malaysia finished second in the preliminary rounds and will face either Thailand or Asia All Stars in the semi-finals at the Cheras Badminton Stadium on Saturday. The draw wil be conducted on Friday.

Daren has been bugged by inconsistency and a lack of physical fitness. His best performance this year was a quarter-final appearance at the Malaysian Open in January.

He was a letdown at the All-England and an early round casualty in the Swiss Open and last week’s Australian Open.

The 25-year-old Daren also led the charge for Malaysia in the preliminary rounds of the Axiata Cup but did not really play at his best.

He lost to Thailand’s Tanongsak Saen­som­boonsuk during the first leg in Surabaya and blew a one-game lead to lose to retired South Korean Lee Hyun-il.

Still, Daren is staying positive and believes that the third round exit in Sydney is actually a blessing in disguise.

“There’s no doubt that I’m playing rather poorly but it’s probably due to the hectic playing and travelling schedule ... I’ve hardly had any rest,” said Daren.

“That made me sick for a few days and it just got worse for me in Australia. But it’s not a bad thing actually ... hopefully, now there’s some time to rest and catch up on some training.

“I’m just staying positive and believe that I’ll get out of this slump soon.

“As for the Axiata Cup, they’ve all been tough matches for me so far and I’ll watch the replays and learn from my mistakes. It’ll be 50-50 against either Thailand or the Asia All Stars ... although I’d prefer not to face the Thais.

“Still, we have a bright chance of making the final this year and hopefully I’ll be able to sort out my performances by then.”

Besides the Axiata Cup, Daren will also lead the challenge for the Badminton Asia Champ­ionship (BAC) in Taipei from April 16-21.

He will, however, skip the India Open in New Delhi from April 23-28.

There’s also a possibility that world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, who suffered a shocking loss to China’s Tian Houwei in Australia, may feature in the semi-finals or final of the Axiata Cup.