Liek Hou out to wrest world title in Tokyo
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Paralympic gold medallist Cheah Liek Hou who has won 13 titles at the international stage, has set his sights firmly on adding the gold medal at the World Para Badminton Championships in Tokyo, Japan, held from Nov 1-6.
Liek Hou who clinched the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, said he has set himself a lofty target of wresting the gold medal that he had lost in Basel, Switzerland back in 2019, despite arriving in Basel as the defending champion.
The Malaysian ace had won the gold medal at the 2017 championships in Ulsan, South Korea.
“My target is to wrest the gold medal that I had lost in 2019 when the World Championships was hosted in Basel. I just returned from Thailand after a competition and will rest this week to celebrate the Independence Day.
“Starting from September I will focus on my training and preparations for the Tokyo competition. I will discuss with my coach on preparations for the competition,” he told Bernama when met at the ‘Oyen’s Day Out, Safe the Malayan Tiger’ programme at Zoo Negara, here today.
In the 2019 championships, Liek Hou not only lost his dominance in the men’s singles SU5 but also lost his world number one ranking to Indonesia’s Dheva Anrimusthi.
The 35-year-old shuttler from Kuala Lumpur said his focus in training would be to develop his physical and mental strength before going to Tokyo.
Liek Hou who recently beat his arch rival from Indonesia to win the gold medal at the ASEAN Para Games in Solo, Indonesia, said his coach had prepared a comprehensive training programme for the next two months to prepare for the Tokyo assault.
“This time around my training will involve sparring with professional players,” he said.
Meanwhile, speaking of the ‘Oyen’s Day Out, Safe the Malaysan Tiger’ programme, Liek Hou said athletes have been urged to participate in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes since the Tiger is the main symbol of National athletes and the Malaysian contingent.
-- BERNAMA
