World Championships 2018: Journeyman Daren Liew clinches bronze for Malaysia in Lee Chong Wei's absence

Malaysia’s Daren Liew almost conceded a walkover after hurting his right ankle in his quarter-final clash against Kanta Tsuneyama. Lying on the court, grimacing in pain while holding his leg, the 30-year-old shuttler had picked up a knock on his right ankle after slipping and falling while attempting to return a shot at the net — this injury could have ended his chances of winning a medal at the World Championships in Nanjing. He was leading 13-12 in the second game after having won the first. But it seemed like it was all over for him. Before reaching the Last-8 of the prestigious competition, the Kuala Lumpur native had stunned Indonesia’s talented Jonatan Christie 21-12, 21-16 in the first round before sending World No 5 Kidambi Srikanth packing in the Round of 16 on Thursday. Interestingly, Daren has always managed to beat Srikanth in each of their encounters in international tournaments. In the absence of ace shuttler Lee Chong Wei, who skipped the prestigious tournament due to a respiratory disorder, Daren was handed the challenge to take on the world’s best players in Nanjing. So, the quarters presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Daren to lay his hands on a maiden Worlds medal, whose career otherwise has been marred by injuries and indifferent form. When he went down in the quarters, it seemed like the curse of injuries had struck again. After some medical assistance, the Malaysian shuttler got back on his feet courageously only to find himself limping again. Tsuneyama took full advantage of his opponent’s struggle and eventually edged past Daren 23-21 to force a decider. Despite the discomfort, it didn’t seem as though he was thinking of retiring from the match. Giving up at this stage would’ve been heartbreaking. Perhaps the thought of quitting after coming so agonisingly close to a World Championships medal itself or maybe the cheers he received from the stands, made him stay on in the match.

Stronger than pain! #TOTALBADMINTON #TOTALBWFWC2018! 💪@liew_daren pic.twitter.com/hWwmRyOjpE

— BWF (@bwfmedia) August 3, 2018

Instead of being apprehensive, Daren appeared to be quick at the net. But his knee restricted his sideways movements in the deciding game, where he again asked for some medical assistance while leading 19-17. However, his request was refused by the match officials. At 20-17, the 30-year-old squandered three match points, but with the crowd rooting for him, Liew pounced at the net to earn his seventh match point. And Daren had cliched it. He fell flat on the floor as Tsuneyama missed the last shot. A 22-20, 23-21, 22-20 win assured him of a medal at the world meet. “This is beyond my wildest dreams,” Liew was quoted as saying by the BWF website. “After I fell, my ankle hurt for a while but it got better in the third game. I had match points in the second game and in the third game, just thankful that I won. I just hung on. My ankle got better after a while. Just kept fighting,” he added. While China’s male singles shuttlers have been performing well in Nanjing, the void left by Malaysian ace Lee was successfully filled by Daren, who is an independent shuttler. He famously fell out with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in 2016, two years after failing to skipper his team to victory in the 2014 Thomas Cup in India. Apart from a French Superseries title in 2012 — where he defeated defending world champion Viktor Axelsen in the final — a medal at the Worlds will be the self-funded shuttler’s only notable achievement of his career so far. He has never regained the form that saw him achieve a career-high ranking of No 10 in the world in 2013. It’s not surprising that he is the only Malaysian after former World No 1 Lee to have won a Superseries title. Chong Wei Feng, Iskandar Zulkarnain and Lee Zii Jia haven’t been able to make a mark on the international circuit. After upsetting big names and scripting a memorable fightback in the quarters, a fatigued Daren folded in straight games against Kento Momota despite showing flashes of brilliance in the early exchanges. Momota eased past Daren 21-16, 21-5 to enter the final. The Japanese ace is the favourite to win the World Championships now, having won the Asian Championships and Indonesia Open this year. But everyone loves an underdog story and the crowd inside the arena would’ve enjoyed cheering for Daren, who defied the odds by clinching bronze in Nanjing.