Dewi reveals how hubby’s age gave him the ‘edge’ to succeed

PETALING JAYA: A proud Dewi Febriana Tan believes that her husband Cheah Liek Hou has proven that age is just a number.

At 33, Liek Hou displayed mental and physical strength to beat Indonesian archrival Dheva Anrimusthi, who’s 11 years younger, 21-17, 21-15, in the men’s singles SU5 (impairment in upper body) final to clinch a historic first badminton gold for Malaysia at the Paralympics yesterday.

Dewi revealed that Liek Hou had always pointed out to her about having to deal with younger rivals in international competitions.

But it was also one of the key motivations that had spurred Liek Hou to double up his effort to outdo his competitors.

“I’m so happy to see him win and fulfil his dream to become a Paralympics champion. He had trained very hard for this,” Dewi told Astro Arena in an interview.

“He would be exhausted sometimes but he kept persevering.

“As the oldest player, his biggest challenge was playing against those in their 20s but instead of seeing it as a hurdle, he trained even harder in his preparation for the Tokyo Paralympics.”

Asked how the Indonesian-born felt about her husband taking on compatriot Dheva, she quipped: “Obviously I’m on my husband's side!

“He played his heart out to win and he truly deserved it.”

Liek Hou’s mother Jap Joe Tjin has hailed her son as the national hero.

“I’m happy and proud that my son has become the national badminton hero,” she said.

“This success is nothing compared to what he had won before. He has now achieved the biggest success of his career.”