PETALING JAYA: Para shuttler Faris Ahmad Azri finally savoured world championship glory with Cheah Liek Hou on their third attempt after winning the men’s doubles SU5 (upper body impairment) title in Manama, Bahrain, on Saturday.
The Malaysian pair combined superbly to defeat Taiwan’s Fan Jen-yu-Pu Gui-yu 21-11, 21-11 in the final at Isa Sports City.
It was a breakthrough moment for Faris, who had previously settled for bronze in the 2019 edition in Switzerland and silver in 2022 in Japan.
“I’m so thankful for the win. It’s something I have dreamed of for a long time,” said the 32-year-old.
“It’s the highest achievement in my badminton career, and I did it all for the country and my family.
“I’ve tried before with Liek Hou, but we came up short twice. And after that, we weren’t partnered for a while.”
After 2022, the pair split, and Liek Hou partnered with Mohd Fareez Anuar.
Liek Hou returned to Faris and after Fareez got injured was deemed ineligible to compete with Liek Hou in events due to the changes in regulation for SU5 classification from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) last year.
After when Faris and Liek Hou got together, they made immediate impact by winning the Japan Para International last November.
But their campaign at the Asean Para Games last month did not go as planned after they settled as the runners-up to Indonesia’s Dheva Anrimusthi-Hafizh Briliansyah.
Hoping to bounce back in Bahrain, Faris admitted that the pressure occasionally got to him, but Liek Hou was always there to keep him on track.
“It took some time to get used to each other again. At the world meet, I felt the pressure, especially at the start of the matches, but with Liek Hou helped and guided me,” said Faris.
“I feel more confident now. I’m focused to do better, fix my mistakes, and keep fighting for the next one,” he said.
Liek Hou was proud to see Faris earn his lifelong dream.
“He deserves it. And I hope with this first title, Faris will maintain his performance.
“It’s hard to hold the world title, but with hard work, I believe Faris can do it,” said Liek Hou, who bagged his seventh doubles world title. He celebrated a smashing 16 world titles in total after also winning his ninth in the singles by defeating Jen-yu 21-6, 21-11 in the final on the same day.
