Rashid: Daren still has a long way to go

National singles head coach Rashid Sidek is not happy with shuttler Liew Daren’s (pic) recent performances and has urged the world No. 13 to keep his head down and work hard in order to become a better player.

Despite reaching the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Open in January, Daren suffered an opening round defeat at the All-England last week.
On Wednesday, the 26-year-old was once again uninspiring, falling to compatriot Mohd Arif Abdul Latif 15-21, 17-21 in the second round of the ongoing Swiss Open GP Gold.
It was Daren’s second defeat to Arif in the international scene and Rashid has warned that the former still has a long way to go before he can become a quality shuttler.
He was ranked world No. 10 recently, but has now dropped to 13th spot.
“Daren’s recent performances have not been good at all, especially with that latest defeat to Arif,” said Rashid.
“He still has a lot to learn and he needs to improve the quality of his play.
“Although his ranking is high, his play suggests that he is not matured enough to take on opponents who have an extra trick up their sleeve.
“But there’s still hope for him because I believe he has what it takes to go up.
“He must, however, be aware of his flaws and give more attention to his training and work extra hard in order to follow in the footsteps of (Lee) Chong Wei,” added Rashid.
Meanwhile, the lack of quality singles shuttlers in Malaysia was apparent as KLRC’s Zulfadli Zulkiffli and Nusa Mahsuri’s Misbun Ramdan Misbun both failed to get past the second round in Basel.
Courtesy of The Star