KUALA LUMPUR — Cheah Liek Hou secured Malaysia’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympics today by defeating Indonesia’s Suryo Nugroho 21-13, 21-15 in the men’s singles SU5 (standing upper) final.
Liek Hou, 36, also made history by successfully defending his medal at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.
Despite holding advantage after winning the first game, Liek Hou faced some resistance in the second.
However, the Malaysian top seed got a bit of luck when Suryo was forced to ask for a timeout when he was trailing 13-15 after picking up a right knee injury.
Credit to the Indonesian, who did not give up and chose to go on with the match despite his injury.
An eight-time world champion in the singles SU5 class, Liek Hou took full advantage of the situation to rally home his sensational second Paralympics gold.
Meanwhile, another Malaysian para-shuttler Muhammad Fareez Anuar missed out on the bronze medal after going down 17-21, 21-19, 21-12 to Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist Dheva Anrimusthi of Indonesia at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena. — September 3, 2024