No Business Losing To Outsiders.

LIEW DAREN has stressed that the national players have no business losing to independent and state shuttlers as he began his campaign for his first local title in the Kuala Lumpur Open at KLBA Stadium in Cheras yesterday.
 Daren himself has been a culprit in the past for under-performing in local tournaments and his defeat to then back-up player Misbun Ramdan Misbun saw the coaches taking him to task last year. While Ramdan went on to win his first national crown and later left the BA of Malaysia (BAM), Daren was dropped from the Korea Open in January.
 Daren, who defeated KL shuttler Oh Soon Keon 21-14, 21-13, said the new internal ranking system will put pressure on them but national shuttlers should stay ahead as all their needs are looked after by BAM. "I will take the local tournaments seriously and we (national players) should not be beaten by the outsiders. We train full-time and we have complete facilities and we cannot lose to the others," said Daren.
 "The internal ranking means we are under pressure but we must work hard and do well. I have tried so many times and I am hoping to win my first local event. "I will be playing in the Denmark and French Opens and I aim to reach at least the quarter-finals. It is difficult to defend my French Open title as both Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long (of China) are playing in Paris." Daren will play back-up player Tan Kian Meng, who defeated Nur Azryn Ayub 21-19, 15-21, 21-19, in the quarter-finals today.
 Ramdan also advanced to the last eight after beating national junior Soong Joo Ven 21-17, 21-13 and will meet Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin today. Iskandar defeated former national player Loo Yik Xiang 21-16, 21-18 in the second round. By K.M. Boopathy