SOLO, Aug 4 — Malaysia are assured of one gold in the Asean Para Games (APG) badminton competition here, in the men’s singles SU5 (physical impairment) event.
The men’s singles SU5 final at the University of Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) Edutorium tomorrow will be an all-Malaysian affair between Tokyo Paralympics 2020 champion Cheah Liek Hou and his former doubles partner Mohamad Faris Ahmad Azri.
Liek Hou, the world number one, defeated traditional arch-rival Dheva Anrimusthi of Indonesia 21-19, 21-12 in the semi-finals today.
Mohamad Faris thrashed another Indonesian, Suryo Nugroho, 21-11, 21-10 to qualify for his first final at APG.
However, luck was not on Liek Hou’s side in the doubles when he and his new partner Muhammad Fareez Anuar lost 19-21, 21-15, 19-21 to Indonesian pair Oddie Kurnia Dwi Listianto Putra-Suryo Nugroho in a close fight.
“I played safe against Dheva in the first game to gauge his form and wind direction. Once I’ve gained confidence in the second, I played a more open game while he still played safe and struggled a bit.
“In the doubles, we tried to control the game but the drift was too strong and they were a bit lucky. For tomorrow, I will not relax or give chance and will play the way I did in the singles just now,” said Liek Hou, who is the singles defending champion.
Liek Hou won gold in singles in the KL 2017 edition and men’s doubles in Singapore in 2015, apart from two silvers and one bronze in APG.
Another Malaysian pair in the men’s doubles SU5 semi-finals, Mohamad Faris-Mohd Amin Burhanuddin, had to be satisfied with bronze after losing to Suryo-Hafizh Briliansyah Prawiranegara 15-21, 9-21.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli qualified for the finals of the men’s singles wheelchair WH1 and doubles wheelchair WH1-WH2.
He defeated Sriboran Anuwat of Thailand 21-14, 21-15 today, and will meet another Thai representative, Kornpeekanok Chatchai, in the singles final tomorrow.
In the doubles, Muhammad Ikhwan-Noor Azwan Noorlan overcame Kornpeekanok-Sumpradit Aphichat 21-12, 21-10, and will play Agung Widodo-Supriadi Supriadi of Indonesia tomorrow. — Bernama
