PM congratulates Liek Hou, Abdul Latif for winning Malaysia's second, third gold at Tokyo Paralympics

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has congratulated national shuttler, Cheah Liek Hou, for contributing Malaysia's second gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games today.

In a posting on Facebook, he described the six-time world champion's performance as outstanding.

"Gold medal for Malaysia! Paralympic athletes continue to contribute medals for the country," he said.

The Prime Minister said the spirit and perseverance displayed by the national paralympic athletes was an inspiration to the Malaysian Family.

The 33-year-old world number two made history when he became the first Paralympic badminton men's singles champion, crushing his nemesis and Games favourite Anrimusthi Dheva of Indonesia 21-17, 21-15 in the men's singles SU5 (physical impairment) final at the Yoyogi National Stadium.

The Kuala Lumpur-born Liek Hou's win means that Malaysia have now won two gold medals, following powerlifting ace Bonnie Bunyau Gustin's heroics in the men's 72-kilogramme (kg) event on Aug 28.

Malaysia have also bagged two silver medals, so far, through Bonnie's team-mate Jong Yee Khie in the 107kg event on Monday (Aug 30) and national boccia player Chew Wei Lun, who lost 4-2 to defending champion David Smith of Great Britain in the mixed individual BC1 (physical impairment) category on Wednesday (Sept 1).

Meanwhile, in a separate post, Ismail Sabri congratulated Abdul Latif Romly for winning the gold medal in the men's long jump T20 (intellectual impairment) category at the Tokyo Paralympics.

"Latif is flying high! I'm very proud of the success of our Paralympic athletes who have shown exceptional performance in this tournament.

"This is our spirit, the Malaysian Family!," he said.

The athlete, who hails from Perlis and who also won gold at the 2016 Rio edition, was in a class of his own to confirm Malaysia's third gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics with his very first jump - leaping to a distance of 7.26-metre (m).

-- BERNAMA