Festive wishes: Cheah Liek Hou with his wife Dewi Febriana (left), mother Jap Joe Tjin, and sister Cheah Liek Hong.
PETALING JAYA: A full day of eating good food in Tapah, Perak – that is what para shuttler Cheah Liek Hou is looking forward to during this Chinese New Year.
It will not be a long celebration as he will have to be back in training on Monday as he needs to resume his preparations for the World Championships from Feb 20-25 in Pattaya.
“Luckily the first and second days of Chinese New Year this year fall on a weekend and I could get two days off,” said Liek Hou.
The 35-year-old will take his family back to Tapah to visit relatives as well as indulge in some tasty Chinese traditional food.
“We are not cooking this year but will go to a restaurant in Tapah for dinner,” said Liek Hou.
“One of my favourite food for Chinese New Year is eel cooked with dry chillies.
“It’s delicious and we can’t get this taste in Kuala Lumpur. I also enjoy the steamed fish here.”
Liek Hou’s New Year wish is to perform well in both the world meet and Paris Paralympics later this year.
“My main targets this year are the world meet and Paralympics which will be in August,” said Liek Hou, who is the reigning champion in the men’s SU5 (upper body impairment) in both the competitions.
“I hope to stay injury-free and focus well for both these major tournaments.’
The world meet will also be the last qualifying tournament for the Paralympics but Liek Hou can breathe easy as he has already booked his spot in Paris.