Asian Para Games: Cheah retains badminton singles title

Despite lack of training, badminton SU5 men's singles badminton defending champion Cheah Liek Hou of Malaysia was till able to defend his title at the Gyeyang Gymnasium here Thursday.

Cheah retained the gold medal after beating Indonesian, Oddie Kurnia Dwi Listyanto 21-8 and 21-11 in the final.

"I am thankful at being able to retain the title in Incheon after the same festival in Guangzhou. I did not train much due to work commitment.

"I should have trained three times a week but I could only attend on Saturdays," he told reporters.

Cheah said he immediately endeavoured to get used to the court and to conserve his energy to ensure a win, upon his arrival at Incheon.

Not only did he retain his singles title, Cheah and partner Suhaili Laiman also defended the SL3-4/SU5 men's doubles title.

Cheah Liek Hou and Suhaimi Laiman

Cheah and Suhaili hugging in glee after defeating their opponents Raj Kumar and Rakesh Pandey to bag another gold medal for Malaysia. - BERNAMApic

The national pair had to work hard to beat their opponents Raj Kumar and Rakesh Pandey 11-21, 21-11 and 21-13.

Commenting on the match today, Suhaili said they started out rather slowly and the opponents took advantage of it by putting up a stiff fight in the first set.

"Although, I managed to train for only a month, it has borne fruit," said Suhaili, who will retire after his Games because of his age.

Suhaili, 52, started partnering Cheah 12 years ago.