Cheah Liek Hou (; born 8 March 1988) is a Malaysian

para-badminton Para-badminton is a variant of badminton for athletes with a range of physical disabilities. Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the main governing body for para-badminton starting from June 2011. The sport was governed by Para Badminton World Fed ...

player. He is a two-time

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

gold medalist and a 14-time

World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

champion at both SU5 singles and doubles events. He won the gold medal in the men's singles SU5 event at the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

, making him the first Malaysian athlete to win a medal in para-badminton. He is the first-ever Paralympic champion in para-badminton.

Early life

Cheah was born with

Erb's palsy Erb's palsy is a paralysis of the arm caused by injury to the upper group of the arm's main nerves, specifically the severing of the upper trunk C5–C6 nerves. These form part of the brachial plexus, comprising the ventral rami of spinal nerve ...

, 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 University of Putra Malaysia ( Malay: ''Universiti Putra Malaysia''), abbreviated as UPM, is a Malaysian public research university located in Serdang, Selangor. Formerly it was named Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Agricultural University of ...

Achievements

Paralympic Games

Men's singles SU5

World Championships

Men's singles SU5

Men's doubles SU5

Asian Para Games

Men's singles SU5

Men's doubles SU5

Asian Championships

Men's singles SU5

Men's doubles SU5

ASEAN Para Games

Men's singles SU5

Men's doubles SU5

Mixed doubles SL3–SU5

BWF Para Badminton World Circuit (27 titles, 2 runners-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 SU5

Men's doubles SU5

International tournaments (from 2011–2021) (35 titles, 6 runners-up)

Men's singles SU5

Men's doubles SU5

Honours

* Malaysia ** Officer of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace of God-Defender of the Realm). The o ...

(KMN) (2025)

In popular culture

Cheah's story of winning the gold medal in the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

was immortalised in the 2024 Malaysian film directed by Adrian Teh, ''

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

'', starring Jack Tan as his titural role.

References

External links

* (para-badminton, 2020–) * (badminton, 2004–2022) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheah, Liek Hou 1988 births Living people Badminton players from Kuala Lumpur Malaysian sportspeople of Chinese descent Paralympic badminton players for Malaysia Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Badminton players at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Malaysia Malaysian male badminton players Paralympic medalists in badminton Malaysian para-badminton players University of Putra Malaysia alumni Medalists at the 2010 Asian Para Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Para Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Para Games Medalists at the 2022 Asian Para Games Asian Para Games medalists in badminton Asian Para Games gold medalists for Malaysia Asian Para Games silver medalists for Malaysia Asian Para Games bronze medalists for Malaysia Officers of the Order of the Defender of the Realm