Cheah Liek Hou

Cheah Liek Hou (Chinese: 谢儮好; pinyin: Xiè Lìhǎo; born 8 March 1988) is a Malaysian para-badminton player. He is an 11-time winner (both Class SU5 singles and doubles events) of the BWF Para-Badminton World Championships. He won the gold medal in the men's singles SU5 event of the 2020 Summer Paralympics, making him the first Malaysian athlete to win a medal in para-badminton. He is also the first-ever Paralympic champion in para-badminton.

Early life

Cheah was born with Erb's palsy, which causes his right hand to have less strength and stability. He took up badminton when he was nine. He later competed against able-bodied badminton players and joined the able-bodied squad when he was 12 years old. He completed his pre-university education in Bukit Jalil Sports School. He competed in both able-bodied and para-badminton tournaments before exclusively competing in the latter upon obtaining his degree.

Personal life

Cheah is married to Dewi Febriana Tan. He has a degree in corporate communications awarded by Universiti Putra Malaysia.

His story on winning Gold medal in Paralympic 2020 will be memorized in 2024 Malaysian film directed by Adrian Teh, Gold starring Jack Tan as himself, Farid Kamil as Rashid Sidek and Josiah Hogan as Nova Armada.

Achievements

Paralympic Games

Men's singles SU5

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2020	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan	Dheva Anrimusthi	21–17, 21–15	Gold

World Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2007	Bangkok, Thailand	Juan Bretones	21–11, 21–13	Gold
2011	Guatemala City, Guatemala	İlker Tuzcu	21–11, 21–19	Gold
2013	Helmut-Körnig-Halle, Dortmund, Germany	Bartłomiej Mróz	21–18, 21–13	Gold
2015	Stoke Mandeville Stadium, Stoke Mandeville, England	Bartłomiej Mróz	21–16, 21–12	Gold
2017	Dongchun Gymnasium, Ulsan, South Korea	Suryo Nugroho	19–21, 21–15, 21–18	Gold
2019	St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland	Dheva Anrimusthi	13–21, 8–21	Bronze
2022	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan	Dheva Anrimusthi	21–14, 21–12	Gold
2024	Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall, Pattaya, Thailand	Dheva Anrimusthi	21–15, 16–21, 21–15	Gold

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2007	Bangkok, Thailand	Suhalli Laiman	Rakesh Pandey Raj Kumar	21–4, 21–10	Gold
2011	Guatemala City, Guatemala	Suhalli Laiman	Kohei Obara Gen Shogaki	21–14, 20–22, 21–12	Gold
2013	Helmut-Körnig-Halle, Dortmund, Germany	Suhalli Laiman	Bartłomiej Mróz İlker Tuzcu	21–18, 21–17	Gold
2015	Stoke Mandeville Stadium, Stoke Mandeville, England	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Bartłomiej Mróz İlker Tuzcu	18–21, 21–13, 21–16	Gold
2017	Dongchun Gymnasium, Ulsan, South Korea	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Suryo Nugroho Tay Wei Ming	21–18, 21–23, 18–21	Silver
2019	St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland	Muhammad Fareez Anuar	Dheva Anrimusthi Hafizh Briliansyah Prawiranegara	13–21, 9–21	Bronze
2022	Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan	Muhammad Fareez Anuar	Dheva Anrimusthi Hafizh Briliansyah Prawiranegara	13–21, 12–21	Silver
2024	Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall, Pattaya, Thailand	Muhammad Fareez Anuar	Chirag Baretha Raj Kumar	21–17, 21–18	Gold

Asian Para Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	Tianhe Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China	Suryo Nugroho	21–8, 21–10	Gold
2014	Gyeyang Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea	Oddie Listyanto Putra	21–8, 21–11	Gold
2018	Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia	Dheva Anrimusthi	21–18, 14–21, 16–21	Bronze

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	Tianhe Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China	Suhalli Laiman	Dwiyoko Ryan Yohwari	21–8, 21–7	Gold
2014	Gyeyang Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea	Suhalli Laiman	Rakesh Pandey Raj Kumar	11–21, 21–11, 21–13	Gold
2018	Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Oddie Listyanto Putra Suryo Nugroho	21–16, 18–21, 17–21	Bronze

Asian Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2012	Yeo-ju Sports Center, Yeoju, South Korea	Tay Wei Ming	21–18, 21–8	Gold
2016	China Administration of Sport for Persons with Disabilities, Beijing, China	Suryo Nugroho	13–21, 16–21	Bronze

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2012	Yeo-ju Sports Center, Yeoju, South Korea	Suhalli Laiman	Kelvin Pung Tay Wei Ming	21–18, 21–13	Gold
2016	China Administration of Sport for Persons with Disabilities, Beijing, China	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Oddie Listyanto Putra Suryo Nugroho	21–9, 21–15	Gold

ASEAN Para Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Sritex Sports Arena, Surakarta, Indonesia	Imam Kunantoro	22–20, 21–18	Gold
2015	OCBC Arena, Singapore	Suryo Nugroho	17–21, 19–21	Silver
2017	Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Suryo Nugroho	21–11, 21–15	Gold
2022	Edutorium Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta, Surakarta, Indonesia	Mohamad Faris Ahmad Azri	21–18, 21–14	Gold

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Sritex Sports Arena, Surakarta, Indonesia	Suhalli Laiman	Imam Kunantoro Suryo Nugroho	21–13, 23–21	Gold
2015	OCBC Arena, Singapore	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Oddie Listyanto Putra Suryo Nugroho	21–13, 21–6	Gold
2017	Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Oddie Listyanto Putra Suryo Nugroho	21–16, 19–21, 19–21	Bronze
2022	Edutorium Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta, Surakarta, Indonesia	Muhammad Fareez Anuar	Oddie Listyanto Putra Suryo Nugroho	19–21, 21–15, 19–21	Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Sritex Sports Arena, Surakarta, Indonesia	Norazlin Sulaiman	Dona Wuhyananto Larti	21–13, 21–17	Gold
			Narinchort Khowbunyarasri Sudsaifon Yodpa	21–16, 23–21
			Phạm Hồng Tuấn Đoàn Thị Ngãi	22–20, 21–12
			Somsak Duangchai Wandee Kamtam	21–7, 21–13

BWF Para Badminton World Circuit (11 titles, 1 runner-up)

The BWF Para Badminton World Circuit – Grade 2, Level 1, 2 and 3 tournaments has been sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation from 2022.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Level	Opponent	Score	Result
2022	Brazil Para Badminton International	Level 2	Méril Loquette	21–17, 21–17	Winner
2022	Bahrain Para Badminton International	Level 2	Bartłomiej Mróz	21–7, 21–12	Winner
2022	Dubai Para Badminton International	Level 2	Taiyo Imai	21–11, 21–19	Winner
2022	4 Nations Para Badminton International	Level 1	Taiyo Imai	21–17, 21–16	Winner
2023	Spanish Para Badminton International II	Level 2	Dheva Anrimusthi	11–21, 21–17, 17–21	Runner-up
2023	Spanish Para Badminton International I	Level 1	Fang Jen-yu	21–7, 21–13	Winner
2023	Brazil Para Badminton International	Level 2	Muhammad Fareez Anuar	21–19, 21–19	Winner

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Level	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2022	Bahrain Para Badminton International	Level 2	Muhammad Fareez Anuar	Chirag Baretha Raj Kumar	21–14, 19–21, 21–7	Winner
2022	Dubai Para Badminton International	Level 2	Muhammad Fareez Anuar	Oddie Listyanto Putra Suryo Nugroho	17–21, 21–15, 21–9	Winner
2022	4 Nations Para Badminton International	Level 1	Mohamad Faris Ahmad Azri	Guillaume Gailly Mathieu Thomas	21–9, 21–10	Winner
				Nilesh Gaikwad Manoj Sarkar	21–6, 21–16
				Chirag Baretha Hardik Makkar	21–19, 21–17
2023	Spanish Para Badminton International II	Level 2	Muhammad Fareez Anuar	Chirag Baretha Raj Kumar	22–20, 21–23, 21–15	Winner
2023	Brazil Para Badminton International	Level 2	Muhammad Fareez Anuar	Chirag Baretha Raj Kumar	21–13, 21–18	Winner

International tournaments (35 titles, 6 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Indonesia Para Badminton International	Oddie Listyanto Putra	21–13, 21–19	Winner
2014	England Para Badminton Championships	Colin Kerouanton	21–11, 21–9	Winner
2015	Spanish Para Badminton International	Colin Kerouanton	21–17, 21–6	Winner
2015	China Para Badminton International	Bartłomiej Mróz	21–15, 21–19	Winner
2015	Indonesia Para Badminton International	Suryo Nugroho	14–21, 19–21	Runner-up
2016	Irish Para Badminton International	Taiyo Imai	24–26, 21–9, 21–14	Winner
2017	Spanish Para Badminton International	Bartłomiej Mróz	21–18, 21–14	Winner
2017	Thailand Para Badminton International	Taiyo Imai	21–13, 21–16	Winner
2017	Japan Para Badminton International	Tetsuo Ura	21–10, 21–8	Winner
2017	USA Para Badminton International	Gen Shogaki	21–2, 21–12	Winner
2018	Dubai Para Badminton International	Bartłomiej Mróz	21–14, 21–9	Winner
2018	Uganda Para Badminton International	Sugil Abbas	21–11, 21–5	Winner
2018	Turkish Para Badminton International	İlker Tuzcu	21–10, 21–14	Winner
2018	Irish Para Badminton International	Dheva Anrimusthi	21–9, 21–19	Winner
2019	Dubai Para Badminton International	Dheva Anrimusthi	19–21, 21–18, 16–21	Runner-up
2019	Thailand Para Badminton International	Fang Jen-yu	21–14, 21–17	Winner
2019	China Para Badminton International	Suryo Nugroho	21–23, 21–11, 19–21	Runner-up
2019	Denmark Para Badminton International	Suryo Nugroho	21–18, 21–9	Winner
2019	Japan Para Badminton International	Suryo Nugroho	21–16, 21–17	Winner
2020	Brazil Para Badminton International	Dheva Anrimusthi	21–15, 10–21, 21–16	Winner
2020	Peru Para Badminton International	Fang Jen-yu	21–17, 18–21, 21–16	Winner
2021	Dubai Para Badminton International	Dheva Anrimusthi	14–21, 22–20, 21–18	Winner
2021	Spanish Para Badminton International	Fang Jen-yu	23–21, 21–7	Winner
2023	England Para Badminton International	Dheva Anrimusthi	21-18, 21–10	Winner

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Indonesia Para Badminton International	Suhalli Laiman	Imam Kunantoro Suryo Nugroho	21–23, 21–16, 21–11	Winner
2014	England Para Badminton Championships	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Bartłomiej Mróz Tay Wei Ming	21–13, 21–18	Winner
2015	Spanish Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	James Binnie Mark Modderman	21–8, 21–14	Winner
2015	China Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Chen Kunxiong Zhu Peiqiang	21–11, 14–21, 21–15	Winner
2015	Indonesia Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Imam Kunantoro Suryo Nugroho	21–11, 21–11	Winner
2016	Irish Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Bartłomiej Mróz Tay Wei Ming	21–16, 19–21, 21–11	Winner
2017	Spanish Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Bartłomiej Mróz İlker Tuzcu	21–14, 22–20	Winner
2017	Thailand Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Bartłomiej Mróz İlker Tuzcu	21–18, 21–14	Winner
2017	Japan Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Kim Gi-yeon Shin Kyung-hwan	21–16, 13–21, 21–10	Winner
2017	USA Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Taiyo Imai Tetsuo Ura	21–14, 23–21	Winner
2018	Dubai Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Oddie Listyanto Putra Suryo Nugroho	21–15, 21–17	Winner
2018	Uganda Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Sugil Abbas Geraldo da Silva Oliveira	21–12, 21–17	Winner
2018	Turkish Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Gen Shogaki Tetsuo Ura	21–10, 21–19	Winner
2018	Irish Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Dheva Anrimusthi Hafizh Briliansyah Prawiranegara	16–21, 21–17, 13–21	Runner-up
2018	Thailand Para Badminton International	Hairol Fozi Saaba	Dheva Anrimusthi Hafizh Briliansyah Prawiranegara	19–21, 11–21	Runner-up
2019	Irish Para Badminton International	Mohamad Faris Ahmad Azri	Dheva Anrimusthi Hafizh Briliansyah Prawiranegara	19–21, 19–21	Runner-up
2019	Thailand Para Badminton International	Mohamad Faris Ahmad Azri	Pricha Somsiri Chok-Uthaikul Watcharaphon	21–14, 21–14	Winner
2019	China Para Badminton International	Mohamad Faris Ahmad Azri	Suryo Nugroho Fredy Setiawan	21–12, 21–15	Winner