Malaysian Shuttler Daren Stuns Lin Dan In Korea Open

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s independent shuttler, Liew Daren served up a huge stunner when he knocked out five-time world champion Lin Dan of China in the first round of the Korea Open badminton championship on Wednesday. The 32-year-old, who is still down with flu, defeated the two-time Olympic champion dubbed "Super Dan” 21-19, 21-14 in a 43-minute battle. "Today I played better compare to the last few tournaments. I hope that I can improve more in future. My condition was not really good (today) because I caught flu, hopefully, I can play a better match to match after this. "In the game with Lin Dan today, I didn't think much. But just tried to attack more," he said when contacted. Daren will next take on India's Parupalli Kashyap who defeated Lu Chia Hung of Taiwan 21-16, 21-16. National number one men's singles shuttler, Lee Zii Jia also moved to the second round after an easy win against Suppanyu Avihingsanon of Thailand. The 21-year-old who is currently ranked 16, took 34 minutes to defeat Avihingsanon 21-7, 21-15 to set a battle against seventh seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark who defeated Zhao Jun Peng of China 21-12, 21-15. National women's singles Soniia Cheah failed to advance to the second round after losing to Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 15-21, 12-21. Meanwhile, in the men's doubles department, independent pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong showed the exit to their compatriots Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi with a 16-21, 21-13, 21-16 victory. The duo will face first-seeded Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia who beat another Malaysian pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, 22-24, 21-10, 21-13. -- BERNAMA