* Daren marches into Polish Open final
* Peng Soon-Liu Yin in mixed doubles final
The long wait is over for Malaysia’s Daren Liew when he marched into the men’s singles final in the USD15,000 41st Yonex Polish Open final in Arlamow on Saturday.
In the sem-finals the 27-year-old Daren defeated Indonesia’s Ihsan Maulana Mustofa 21-14, 21-14 in 38-minute encounter and will meet Denmark’s Emil Holst for the title. Holst got the better of Kestutis Navickas of Lithuania with the same scoreline as Daren’s in 32 minutes.
There was more joy in the Malaysian camp when Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Yin made it to the mixed doubles final after a three-set thriller against the Finland-Netherlands combination of Anton Kaisti-Cheryl Seinen, winning 21-17, 19-21, 21-16 in 44 minutes.
In the final the Malaysians will face India’s Akshay Dewalkar-Pradya Gadre. The Indians defeated Taiwan’s Lin Chia Yu-Wu Ti Jung 21-17, 23-21 in their semi-final encounter.
This is the first final for Daren since winning the French Open in 2012. Daren skippered Malaysia to the Thomas Cup Finals in New Delhi last June where Malaysia finished runners-up to Japan. Japan won the final 3-2.
Reaching the final in the Polish Open is a big boost for Daren who will have to go through to the qualifying rounds for place in the main draw in the USD500,000 Maybank Malaysian Open Super Series Premier to be held at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from March 31-April 5.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS (Malaysians only)
 Men
 Singles
 Daren Liew (Mas) beat Ihsan Maulana Mustofa (Ina) 21-14, 21-14
 Emil Holst (Den) beat Kestutis Navickas (Lth) 21-14, 21-14
 Mixed Doubles
 Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (Mas) beat Anton Kaisti-Cheryl Seinen (Fin/Ned) 21-17, 19-21, 21-16
