Coronavirus: Liew Daren laments 'crazy' revamped badminton calendar

Independent shuttler Liew Daren voiced his concern about the possibility of competing in a grueling badminton calendar after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) released new dates for the season scheduled to resume in August.

There are over 20 events slated for resumption from August until December.

For the world top 50 shuttlers like Liew, there are at least 14 tournaments from Super 300 events onwards to compete from September onwards, which means playing up to four tournaments a month.

"I think competing in four tournaments a month is crazy. It is too taxing for us. We are running a high risk of getting injured if we push our bodies like that. For me, it would be okay to call off more events.

"But I can understand the situation faced by the BWF. It’s already hard for them to plan the season due to the coronavirus, and cancelling more events would cause them more financial hardship due to sponsors commitments," he told Stadium Astro.

The world body announced a revamped calendar for the remainder of 2020, including the rescheduling of top-tier events that were previously postponed or suspended.

The Malaysia Open, for example, is now scheduled to take place from November 24th to 29th.

Meanwhile, the world number 41 received a boost after signing a two-year sponsorship with badminton manufacturer Kumpoo.

Liew was also in talks with other potential sponsors before the Movement Control Order (MCO) halted negotiations.

As of now, the 32-year-old is training on his own and waiting for the season to resume as well as an opportunity to be selected for the national Thomas Cup squad.

“I have had a discussion with the Badminton Association of Malaysia for a joint training but nothing is confirmed yet. I hope to be considered for Thomas Cup selections. The facilities at the national training centre are great and will benefit me,” he added.

Tokyo Olympics bound shuttlers would return to training on June 1st after the national body got the green light from the Youth and Sports Ministry.