Liek Hou’s restless ahead of Paralympics.
Liek Hou wary of threat by Indonesian arch-rivals due to long interval
PETALING JAYA: National para badminton ace Cheah Liek Hou has been widely tipped to win gold for Malaysia in the Tokyo Paralympics from Aug 24-Sept 5.
The confidence comes from the fact that the 33-year-old has not lost any of his last 31 matches dating back to October 2019.
It was a marvellous streak which saw him claim a sixth title in a row – with the last being at the Spanish Para-badminton International in May.
But a three-month long interval in between the last international meet and the Paralympics has left world No. 2 Liek Hou a little restless and anxious.
He is thinking about the threat posed by arch-rivals Dheva Anrimusthi and Suryo Nugroho, the world No. 1 and No. 3 of Indonesia as the duo could have changed their game in the last three months.
As the only two players seeded in the eight-man SU5 men’s singles competition (impairment in upper body) contest, Dheva and Liek Hou will be separated into Group A and Group B respectively.
The remaining six competitors will be drawn into the two groups and Liek Hou is hoping that Suryo will not fall into the same group.
“There’s good and bad in drawing Suryo in the same group,” said Liek Hou, admitting that he has been anxiously waiting for the draw ceremony on Aug 26.
“What makes things tricky for me is that both the semis and final will be played on the same day (Sept 4).
“So even if I were to avoid Suryo in the group stage, it’s mostly likely that I’ll be meeting him in the last four. If that happens, I can expect a tough time because playing against Suryo will drain my energy.
“So even if I do win, I would be exhausted for the gold-medal match later on the same day.
“With two strong players in the field, Indonesia have the luxury of strategising.
“There’s a possibility that Dheva can finish as the runner-up deliberately so that he could meet me in the semis. He will surely be out to make it an all-indonesian affair.
“This is the first time that badminton is contested in the Paralympics, so a lot is at stake and everyone will do whatever it takes to win the gold.”
Liek Hou may have only won three of his eight meetings against Dheva, but he came out tops in their last two clashes - pipping the latter to the Brazil Para-badminton International title in February last year and Dubai Para-badminton International in April.
As for Suryo, Liek Hou has won all their last four meetings as he holds a 5-2 advantage in the head-tohead record between them.
“They will be fired up for revenge, so I have to be prepare myself for the backlash,” said Liek Hou.
“But having beaten them in the last two years, I believe the psychological advantage is with me.”
The other five qualifiers are Bartlomiej Mroz of Poland, Taiyo Imai of Japan, Meril Loquette of France, Fang Jen-yu of Taiwan and Ahmed Eldakrory of Egypt.
“I have lost to Bart only once two years ago in Ireland in 2019, but not the rest,” he said.
“Still, I’m taking nothing for granted. If there’s one thing I learned recently from the Tokyo Olympics, there is no such thing as a sure win.
“It would be a huge mistake if I only think about the semis onwards. Every singles match is crucial.”
“This is the first time that badminton is contested in the Paralympics, so a lot is at stake and everyone will do whatever it takes to win the gold.” Cheah Liek Hou