Eyes on prize: Malaysia's para singles shuttler Cheah Liek Hou getting ready to make his mark again in the World Championships. - FAIHAN GHANI/The Star.
PETALING JAYA: Para shuttler Cheah Liek Hou is a man on a mission.
While others may be busy chasing Paralympics qualification points, Liek Hou’s main focus is to defend his men’s singles SU5 (upper body impairment) title in the World Championships from Feb 20-25 in Thailand.
Seven-time world champion Liek Hou does not have to worry about qualification points as he is almost guaranteed a spot in the Paris Olympics.
He currently leads the Road to Paris rankings with 65,500 points, holding an 8,800-point lead over Indonesia’s Dheva Anrimusthi, where only the top six will make the cut.
Apart from retaining his singles title, Liek Hou is also keeping his fingers crossed on ending his men’s doubles world title drought.
The last time he secured a men’s doubles title in the world meet was in 2015 before having to settle for silver in 2017, 2022 and a bronze in 2019.
Liek Hou is happy with his preparation phase and wants to maintain his physical condition until the Paralympics rolls around in August.
“The world meet will be my first tourney of the year and my target is to defend my title in singles that I won two years ago,” said Liek Hou, who triumphed in the men’s singles SU5 at the 2005 Hsinchu, 2007 Bangkok, 2011 Guatemala City, 2013 Dortmund, 2015 Stoke Mandeville, 2017 Ulsan and 2022 Tokyo editions.
“I also want to try and win the doubles title which I’ve always missed out.
“I will focus on this world meet first because on paper, I’ve already qualified for the Paris Paralympics. This world meet is the last qualification for Paris.
“For me, the pressure is not about chasing points for Paris, but it’s about defending my title.
“I’m currently working on getting back to my optimal condition on the court and for now, avoiding injury is the most important thing.”
