by BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian badminton player Cheah Liek Hou (picture) is delighted that he won the men’s singles title at the Spanish Para International Badminton Championship on Sunday.

The world number two said that he had so little time to prepare for the challenge in Cartagena, Spain after winning another tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month.

“I am very satisfied with this success. I had to quarantine a week after returning from Dubai and only had three weeks to prepare for the tournament in Spain,” he said in a video shared to the media today.

He put on a stellar performance and took just 34 minutes to emerge the champion in the SU5 (upper limb disability) category after beating Japanese opponent Taiyo Imai 21-13, 21-1.

This is the second success in a row for Cheah this year after defeating Indonesian Dheva Anrimusthi 14-21, 22-20, 21-18 in the final of the Fazza-Dubai International Badminton Championships for the third time in the UAE.

Meanwhile, Cheah, who is also a six-time world champion, said the experience he gained while competing in the last tournament helped him overcome the pressure to succeed in Spain.

At the same time, he is grateful and appreciated the efforts made by the officials who analysed each of his challengers and helped him excel in the tournament in Spain.

His coach, Datuk Rashid Sidek, when contacted by Bernama, confirmed that Cheah had successfully booked a slot for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, which is scheduled to take place from Aug 24 to Sept 5 following his success in Cartagena.