We’re in good hands: Cheah Liek Hou (left) and Fareez Anuar (right) posing with their coach Nova Armada.
PETALING JAYA: Para shuttlers Cheah Liek Hou-Fareez Anuar exacted sweet revenge over Indonesia’s Dheva Anrimusthi-Hafizh Brilliansyah to reach the final of the World Championships.
Liek Hou-Fareez lost to Dheva-Hafizh in the last four of the men’s doubles SU5 (upper body impairment) in the Asian Para Games last October but turned the tables on them at the same stage in the world meet with a hard fought 21-11, 19-21, 21-10 win in Pattaya yesterday.
Liek Hou-Fareez stayed calm after losing a close second game to come away with the well deserved win.
“After losing to the Indonesians in the Asiad, we analysed their game and worked on making our attacking shots more solid,” said Liek Hou.
“The shuttle in this venue is quite slow, so we had to be patient with our attacking shots.
‘‘Our strategy worked well.”
Liek Hou-Fareez will take on India’s world No. 1 Chirag Baretha-Raj Kumar in the final today.
It was double joy for Liek Hou after he also made it into the singles final after beating Taiwan’s Fang Jen-yu 21-14, 21-18.
Liek Hou will now face Dheva in the final in a repeat of the 2022 title match where the former came out on top.
The 35-year-old, though, is remaining cautious after losing to his archrival in the Asiad final.
“I made mistakes during the crucial stages of the match in the Asiad and ended up losing to him and I can’t afford to do the same this time,” said Liek Hou.
Meanwhile, Malaysia will also have a representative in the men’s doubles WH1 (wheelchair) final after Mohd Ikhwan Ramli-Noor Azwan Noorlan made it through by ousting Thailand’s Jakarin Homhual-Dumnern Junthong 21-19, 21-17.
Ikhwan-Noor Azwan will take on China’s Mai Jianpeng-Qu Zimo for the title.
RESULTS
(Malaysians only)
Semi-finals
Men’s singles
SU5: Cheah Like Hou bt Fang Jen-yu (Tpe) 21-14, 21-18.
Men’s doubles
SU5: Cheah Liek Hou-Fareez Anuar bt Dheva Anrimusthi-Hafizh Brilliansyah (Ina) 21-11, 19-21, 21-10.
WH1: Mohd Ikhwan Ramli-Noor Azwan Noorlan bt Jakarin Homhual-Dumnern Junthong (Tha) 21-19, 21-17.
