Proud moment: Cheah Liek Hou (right) posing with his partner Ruthick Ragupathi (left) of India and coach Nova Armada after their event.
PETALING JAYA: Para shuttler Cheah Liek Hou breathed a sigh of relief after the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) made a U-turn on their decision to ban him.
Freed from the uncertainty, the 37-year-old was able to give his full focus in the men’s doubles SU5 (upper body impairment) final at the China Para International yesterday.
Partnering India’s Ruthick Ragupathi, Liek Hou combined brilliantly to stun home favourites Li Mingpan-He Zhirui 21-14, 20-22, 21-16 in 43 minutes in Beijing.
The victory made up for his disappointment in the men’s singles SU5, where he fell 23-25, 21-9, 14-21 to Mingpan in Saturday’s semi-finals.
PCM had threatened action against Liek Hou on Friday after he criticised the body on social media for failing to deliver the RM60,000 reward promised for his 2024 Paris Paralympics gold.
But intervention from Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh turned the tide, with her assurance that he would not be barred from multi-sport Games.
Grateful for her support, Liek Hou dedicated his win to that timely backing.
“I’m glad I performed better today after Hannah came out with the statement on social media that I will not be banned from competitions,” said Liek Hou.
“In the semi-finals, I was feeling very stressed but I could focus and play better in the final of the doubles.
“I’m thankful to Hannah for speaking out for me. I need to come back to Malaysia and work with the National Sports Council (NSC) to settle this issue with PCM.”
Liek Hou, however, has been asked to clarify his social media post that he had been “scammed”.
Hannah had met up with the PCM president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shariman Zaharuddin on Saturday, where both parties agreed that no suspension would be imposed.
Hannah added that she personally did not see anything wrong with Liek Hou speaking up, as he was merely fighting for his right to receive the RM60,000 reward from PCM.
Still, she advised Liek Hou to provide an explanation to the council over his remark.
“I believe Liek Hou is capable of explaining his Instagram post, but as I mentioned, I personally went to check.
“I verified the news reports and they did state that there was a RM60,000 reward. If that was not true, it should have been corrected.
“This issue has been ongoing for a year, so I feel that if it was not Liek Hou, other athletes would have raised the same question.
“There is nothing wrong in asking such a question. In this case, Liek Hou can explain his feelings directly to PCM. As I have said many times, in my view this is not a disciplinary matter,” said Hannah.
The issue did not only involve Liek Hou but also five other medallists, among them Bonnie Bunyau (powerlifting) and Abdul Latif Romly, Mohd Ziyad Zolkefli and Eddy Bernard (athletics).
Hannah felt there was a silver lining as several private sponsors have now stepped forward to offer additional rewards for the Paris Paralympic medallists.
“The good news is that other private sponsors have come forward and contacted me. They want to top up the rewards for the five Paris Paralympic medallists.
“But this is still under discussion and an announcement will be made soon,” added Hannah.
