Bangkok: Can Malaysia’s World No. 41 Daren Liew repeat the 2012 French Open final feat which saw him defeated current World No. 4 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark when they take on each other in the quarter-finals of the Toyota Thailand Open in Bangkok on Friday?
Of course, a lot has changed after eight years, where Axelsen was able to capture the 2017 World Championships title, while Liew has been out of the Malaysian badminton national team.
At the time of their 2012 meeting, Axelsen could still be considered ‘fresh’ while Liew had already entered the Malaysian senior team.
For the record, after the victory in France, Liew has never defeated Axelsen in their next four meetings.
However, everything is possible for Liew who just defeated World No. 3 Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the first round of the YONEX Thailand Open last week. Liew became quite the giant-killer at the 2018 World Championships where he ultimately won the bronze medal.
In the Toyota Thailand Open second round, Liew defeated Indian player HS Prannoy 21-17, 21-18 while Axelsen overcame Kunlavut Vittidsarn from Thailand, 21-11, 21-13.
