Filepic of national singles shuttler Liew Daren.
KUALA LUMPUR: National shuttler Liew Daren nailed the men’s singles title in the Polish Open in convincing fashion to end his three-year agonising wait for an international title.
Daren's team-mates Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying then followed suit by capturing the mixed doubles crown with victory over India's Akshay Dewalkar-Pradnya Garde to give Malaysia twice the celebration in Arlamow.
On Saturday, the 27-year-old Daren blew away Emil Holst of Denmark 21-15, 21-11 in a one-sided final in just 34 minutes to showcase his strong determination to win, while Peng Soon-Liu Ying prevailed 28-26, 21-18 in a hard-fought battle.
Daren last tasted success at the 2012 French Open. His first international title came at a satellite tournament in Taiwan a decade ago.
Peng Soon and Liu Ying, meanwhile, are competing in only their third international tournament together since Liu Ying returned late last year from an eight-month injury lay-off. Their last victory came at the 2012 Malaysian Open GP Gold.
A jubilant Daren said that his third career title was a tremendous boost to his morale – especially after being dumped in the second round of the Swiss Open in Basel just a week ago.
“It was not as tough as I had anticipated. After winning the opening match against Emil, I was confident of going all the way,” said Daren, who had been under fire for his inconsistent performances lately.
It may be just a small tournament but the win is really important to me. After so many failures, I got it right. It is a timely morale booster,” said a delighted Daren.
