From Amiril Muttaqien Meketar
PARIS: Hopes of an all-Malaysian final in para-badminton men’s singles SU5 (physical impairment) were dashed as only Cheah Liek Hou cleared his sem-final hurdle while Muhammad Fareez Anuar crashed out yesterday.
Liek Hou checked into his second straight Paralympic final after defeating arch-nemesis Dheva Anrimusthi of Indonesia 21-17, 21-17 in 47 minutes at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, thus, allowing him to defend the gold he won at the Tokyo 2020 edition.
Muhammad Fareez, however, went down fighting 12-21, 21-14, 6-21 to another Indonesian, Suryo Nugroho in the other semi-final.
The final today will see Liek Hou taking on Suryo while Muhammad Fareez will square off against Anrimusthi for the bronze medal.
Based on their head-to-head record, world number one and top seed Liek Hou holds the upper hand against Suryo, having chalked up 13 victories over the Indonesian, including the 21-10, 21-13 win when they last met in a Group A match here on Saturday.
Paralympic debutant Muhammad Fareez had defeated Anrimusthi twice in six meetings, including stunning the world number three 14-21, 21-19, 21-19 in a Group B tie here.
Besides the win over Anrimusthi, Muhammad Fareez also stunned second-seeded Fan Jen-Yu of Taiwan 21-14, 21-18 and Japan’s Taiyo Imai 17-21, 21-17, 21-17 to remain unbeaten in his Group B matches. – BERNAMA
