Cheah Liek Hou is one match away from becoming the country’s first para shuttler gold medalist after the Malaysian checked into the Tokyo Paralympics men’s singles Standing Upper 5 (SU5) final.
Cheah will now go on to face tournament top seed and world number one Dheva Anrimushti in a highly anticipated final in Saturday evening.
His semi-final victory was hard-earned, with the world number two having to battle for 51 minutes before overcoming Chinese Taipei’s Fang Jen Yu 15-21, 21-10, 21-16 in Saturday’s morning session.
Cheah had beaten Fang in straight games in their second Group B clash on Thursday, but this encounter was a far tougher proposition altogether and was a test of the Malaysian’s mettle.
After surrendering the opening game 15-21, the six-time world SU5 singles champ battled to level with a 21-10 victory, and he was pushed by Fang in the third game before sealing victory with the slimmest of margins.
Key to Cheah’s win was his ability to convert points during his service, as he notched 34 points compared to Fang’s 24.
Meanwhile, Dheva beat Indonesian team-mate Suryo Nugroho 21-13, 21-15 for the final berth.
