PETALING JAYA: Para shuttler Cheah Liek Hou is not letting a minor arm injury bother him in his bid to win again in the World Championships.
Yesterday, Liek Hou put up a brave front despite the pain to reach the last 16 of the men’s singles and doubles SU5 (upper body impairment) in Pattaya, Thailand.
In the singles, Liek Hou, who is eyeing his eighth world title, defeated Kim Gi-yeon of South Korea 21-6, 21-16 in his final Group A match.
And hours later, he was back in the doubles with Mohd Fareez Anuar, and together, they defeated Manuel Garcia-Pablo Serrano of Spain 21-10, 21-9 to emerge as the Group B champions to advance to the knockout round.
Fareez also made the last 16 in the singles from Group E after beating Shi Shengzuo of China 21-14, 21-11.
While happy to make the last 16, the 35-year-old Liek Hou said his goal was to maintain his form.
“I’m not really in good condition in this world meet as I had picked up a slight injury on my left arm a week before arriving here,” said Liek Hou.
“But I don’t want to use this as an excuse when I face my opponents.
“I will still go all out and see where I stand against my opponents. If I win, it’s a bonus for me,” he said. Men’s singles
SU5 Group A: Cheah Liek Hou bt Kim Gi-yeon (Kor) 21-6, 21-16
SU5 Group E: Mohd Fareez Anuar bt Shi Shengzuo (Chn) 21-14, 21-11
SL4 Group E: Mohd Amin Burhanuddin bt Patrick Lee Yan Ping (Hkg) 21-9, 21-10
WH1 Group C: Mohd Ikhwan Ramli bt Prem Kumar (Ind) 21-8, 21-10
WH2 Group D: Mai Jianpeng (Chn) bt Noor Azwan Noorlan 21-9, 21-7
Men’s doubles
SU5 Group B: Mohd Fareez Anuar-Cheah Liek Hou bt Manuel Garcia-Pablo Serrano (Spa) 21-10, 21-9
WH1-WH2 Group E: Noor Azwan Noorlan-Mohd Ikhwan Ramli bt Manh Giang Hoang-Ngoc Binh Truong (Vie) 21-9, 21-10.
