Cheah Liek Hou’s new biopic ‘Gold’ was recently rescreened in cinemas following his recent success at the Paris Paralympics which saw him successfully defend his Standing Upper 5 (SU5) gold medal from Tokyo.
Stadium Astro analyzed five key elements that stood from the two-hour long movie.
Please note that this article includes some spoilers from the movie!
Rashid Sidek is Cheah’s idol
Every athlete has a hero, and for Cheah, it was Rashid Sidek. The movie starts out with Cheah’s family gathering to watch the Thomas Cup final, and a young Cheah was seen adoring his idol who helped Malaysia to their last victory at that prestigious event in 1992. Rashid would go on to shape the para-shuttler’s success to the top as his coach.
Self-belief to challenge the best
From young, Cheah has the self-belief that he could face any challenge and overcome it. As a young kid in the movie, he was challenged to a match by the school champion, and accepted it even though the odds was not in his favour. Even when he got diagnosed with Erbs Palsy as a teenager, he did not let that predicament discourage him, and continued pursuing para-badminton with ambitions to succeed at the highest level.
Family support & sacrifice
Every successful athlete needs the backing of their family, and Cheah received it from both his parents in the movie. His on-screen Dad helped him train in the movie, and after that his mom even helped him collect shuttlecocks as he prepared to compete at the Tokyo Paralympics. Without strong family support, it would have been difficult for him to face and overcome adversities.
Awareness for para-badminton is still low
Despite winning 11 para world-titles, Cheah was not a household name in the country and struggled to attract sponsors to fund his career. During a conversation with his friends at a ‘mamak’ in the movie, Cheah related his struggles and later had to resort to taking up full-time employment to pay the bills.
Cheah’s first gold unites Malaysians
One scene in the movie depicted Farid Kamil who played Rashid, telling Cheah that he should go out there and prove to the world that Malaysia should not be afraid of anyone.
Jack Tan, who played Cheah, would go on to defeat his Indonesian rival 11-years younger than him.
The scene then cuts to real life where Cheah drapes his gold medal around Rashid’s neck in an interview with Astro Arena.
When Stadium Astro interviewed Cheah some time ago, he told us one of the main lessons he wanted Malaysians to take away from this movie is racial harmony.
“Rashid is a Malay coach helping a Chinese athlete chase his dream. Eventhough Rashid did not win an Olympic gold, he helped his student to achieve gold at the Paralympics,” said Cheah back then.
Stadium Astro analyzed five key elements that stood from the two-hour long movie.
Please note that this article includes some spoilers from the movie!
Rashid Sidek is Cheah’s idol
Every athlete has a hero, and for Cheah, it was Rashid Sidek. The movie starts out with Cheah’s family gathering to watch the Thomas Cup final, and a young Cheah was seen adoring his idol who helped Malaysia to their last victory at that prestigious event in 1992. Rashid would go on to shape the para-shuttler’s success to the top as his coach.
Self-belief to challenge the best
From young, Cheah has the self-belief that he could face any challenge and overcome it. As a young kid in the movie, he was challenged to a match by the school champion, and accepted it even though the odds was not in his favour. Even when he got diagnosed with Erbs Palsy as a teenager, he did not let that predicament discourage him, and continued pursuing para-badminton with ambitions to succeed at the highest level.
Family support & sacrifice
Every successful athlete needs the backing of their family, and Cheah received it from both his parents in the movie. His on-screen Dad helped him train in the movie, and after that his mom even helped him collect shuttlecocks as he prepared to compete at the Tokyo Paralympics. Without strong family support, it would have been difficult for him to face and overcome adversities.
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— Paralympic Council Malaysia (@NPCMalaysia) September 2, 2024
Thank you Cheah Liek Hou for the 1st Gold Medal in Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Photo by : @ridhwanroslim pic.twitter.com/AG2hQIjhbq
Awareness for para-badminton is still low
Despite winning 11 para world-titles, Cheah was not a household name in the country and struggled to attract sponsors to fund his career. During a conversation with his friends at a ‘mamak’ in the movie, Cheah related his struggles and later had to resort to taking up full-time employment to pay the bills.
Cheah’s first gold unites Malaysians
One scene in the movie depicted Farid Kamil who played Rashid, telling Cheah that he should go out there and prove to the world that Malaysia should not be afraid of anyone.
Jack Tan, who played Cheah, would go on to defeat his Indonesian rival 11-years younger than him.
The scene then cuts to real life where Cheah drapes his gold medal around Rashid’s neck in an interview with Astro Arena.
When Stadium Astro interviewed Cheah some time ago, he told us one of the main lessons he wanted Malaysians to take away from this movie is racial harmony.
“Rashid is a Malay coach helping a Chinese athlete chase his dream. Eventhough Rashid did not win an Olympic gold, he helped his student to achieve gold at the Paralympics,” said Cheah back then.
