KUALA LUMPUR: Two-time Paralympic champion Cheah Liek Hou and Ikhwan Ramli are each on course for a sweet double after reaching their respective men’s singles and doubles finals at the Japan Para International in Shizuoka on Saturday.
World No. 1 Liek Hou battled to a 19-21, 21-16, 21-18 win over Taiyo Imai in 71 minutes to book his place in the SU5 singles final.
Despite extending his perfect 16-0 head-to-head record against Imai, the Malaysian admitted he was disappointed with his performance.
“Today was a very tough match as my recovery from the previous round was slow. I couldn’t play my normal attacking game, and the focus was also lacking. My performance was bad,” said Liek Hou.
The Malaysian, who won the singles title at the Indonesia Para International in Solo last week, will face Taiwan’s world No. 5 Fang Jen Yu in Sunday’s final.
“I have to cut down on my errors and also take a good rest before playing Jen Yu tomorrow. This is the last tournament of the year, and hopefully, I can recover and produce a good result,” he added.
Liek Hou is also aiming for a clean sweep in men’s doubles with his third different partner, Fariz Asri.
Previously, Liek Hou and Fareez Anuar won four titles — Spanish Para, Dubai Para, Asian Para, and British & Irish Para — before the latter was sidelined by injury.
Liek Hou then partnered India’s Ruthick Ragupathy to titles in China and Indonesia.
Liek Hou-Fariz, the 2019 and 2022 world champions, defeated Taiwan’s Jen Yu-Pu Gui Yu 21-18, 21-11 in the semi-finals.
They will face Ruthick-Hardik Makkar in the final on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Ikhwan is also in contention for a double in the wheelchair category.
Ikhwan, who won three titles at the Indonesia Para last week, defeated Japan’s Keita Nishimura 21-15, 23-21 in the semi-finals and will meet local player Shoichiro Eguchi for the singles crown.
In men’s doubles, Ikhwan-Noor Azwan Noorlan overcame Switzerland’s Marc Elmer and Taiwan’s Ong Yu Yu 21-19, 21-9 to set up a final against Japan’s Daiki Kajiwara-Keita Nishimura.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
