National elite para shuttler Cheah Liek Hou confirmed his berth at the Tokyo Paralympics after he swept aside Japan’s Taiyo Imai 21-13, 21-11 to clinch the Spanish Para Badminton International title.
Cheah’s triumph, earned in the SU5 (impairment in upper body) men’s singles final category, stretched his winning streak to an incredible 31 consecutive matches dating back to October 2019.
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The win also came as a back-to-back triumph for the world number two, who won the Dubai Para Badminton International at United Arab Emirates last month.
Before that, Cheah had also bagged titles in Denmark, Japan, Brazil and Peru.
Cheah’s coach Rashid Sidek was undoubtedly delighted with his star performer.
“I’m happy with his performance and especially thrilled to see him fulfill his quest to win this tournament,” said Rashid.
Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli came close to making it a double joy for Malaysia, but ultimately fell short after losing 13-21, 16-21 to South Korea’s Lee Dong Seop in the WH1 (wheelchair) men’s singles final category.
Nonetheless, Ikhwan stood a good chance of making it to the Tokyo Paralympics if he could break into the top 10.
He is currently three rungs below at 13th.
