The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) gave their blessings to Liew Daren to compete at the 2018 BWF World Championships in Nanjing, China, in July.

Despite now playing as an independent shuttler, the 30-year-old was selected by the BAM ahead of the likes of Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin and Lee Zii Jia, and will be joining Lee Chong Wei to the tournament.

It will be his first participation since 2013, which saw him lose to Chen Long in the third round.

Since leaving the national body in 2016 and dropping as low as 192nd in the world, the 30-year-old slowly picked up his form and most recently climbed to the 42nd spot in the rankings.

"This is my second time going to the World Championships and it is unexpected because at the start of the year, my ranking was probably just fourth or fifth in Malaysia," he told Astro Arena.

"Thank you to the BAM for giving me the opportunity even though they could have given it to another player."