Cheah Liek Hou

Cheah Liek Hou (; born 8 March 1988) is a Malaysian para-badminton player. He is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist and a 16-time World champion at both SU5 singles and doubles events. He won the gold medal in the men's singles SU5 event at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Paralympics, 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, 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.

Men's singles SU5 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 2022 Thailand Para-Badminton International Level 1 Fang Jen-yu 22–20, 21–15 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 2023 Bahrain Para-Badminton International Level 2 Suryo Nugroho 21–13, 21–10 Winner 2023 Canada Para-Badminton International Level 1 Fang Jen-yu 21–14, 21–13 Winner 2023 4 Nations Para-Badminton International Level 1 Dheva Anrimusthi 21–18, 21–10 Winner 2023 Dubai Para-Badminton International Level 1 Muhammad Fareez Anuar 19–21, 19–21 Runner-up 2024 Spanish Para-Badminton International II Level 2 Fang Jen-yu 21–13, 21–8 Winner 2024 Spanish Para-Badminton International I Level 1 Fang Jen-yu 21–19, 21–17 Winner 2024 4 Nations Para-Badminton International Level 1 Fang Jen-yu 21–12, 21–19 Winner

Men's doubles SU5 Year Tournament LevelPartner 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 2022 Thailand Para-Badminton International Level 1 Mohamad Faris Ahmad Azri Kim Gi-yeon Lee Jeong-soo 21–15, 21–18 Winner Méril Loquette Lucas Mazur 21–12, 21–16 Pricha Somsiri Chok-Uthaikul Watcharaphon 21–15, 21–13 Fang Jen-yu Pu Gui-yu 21–11, 22–20 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 2023 Thailand Para-Badminton International Level 2 Muhammad Fareez Anuar Li Mingpan Shi Shengzhuo 21–15, 22–24, 21–14 Winner 2023 Bahrain Para-Badminton International Level 2 Muhammad Fareez Anuar Chirag Baretha Raj Kumar 21–18, 19–21, 21–14 Winner 2023 4 Nations Para-Badminton International Level 1 Muhammad Fareez Anuar Jeon Sun-woo Kim Gi-yeon 15–21, 21–11, 21–16 Winner Robert Donald Sean O'Sullivan 21–14, 21–11 Chirag Baretha Raj Kumar 17–21, 21–10, 21–15 2023 Western Australia Para-Badminton International Level 2 Muhammad Fareez Anuar Manuel García Pablo Serrano 21–12, 21–10 Winner Bartłomiej Mróz Sean O'Sullivan 21–9, 21–13 Hardik Makkar Ruthick Ragupathi 21–17, 19–21, 21–16 2023 Japan Para-Badminton International Level 2 Muhammad Fareez Anuar Mohamad Faris Ahmad Azri Amyrul Yazid Ahmad Sibi 21–8, 19–21, 21–17 Winner Li Mingpan Shi Shengzhuo 21–15, 21–9 Bartłomiej Mróz Tay Wei Ming 21–14, 21–15 Hardik Makkar Ruthick Ragupathi 21–15, 21–17 2023 Dubai Para-Badminton International Level 1 Muhammad Fareez Anuar Fang Jen-yu Pu Gui-yu 21–1, 21–10 Winner 2024 Spanish Para-Badminton International II Level 2 Muhammad Fareez Anuar Chirag Baretha Raj Kumar 21–16, 21–19 Winner 2024 Spanish Para-Badminton International I Level 1 Muhammad Fareez Anuar Hardik Makkar Ruthick Ragupathi 21–16, 22–20 Winner

International tournaments (from 2011–2021) (35 titles, 6 runners-up) Men's singles SU5 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 Taiyo Imai 21–13, 21–11 Winner

Men's doubles SU5 Year TournamentPartner Opponent Score Result 2014 Indonesia Para-Badminton International Suhaili 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

Honours Malaysia Officer of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (KMN) (2025)

In popular culture Cheah's story of winning the gold medal in the 2020 Summer Paralympics was immortalised in the 2024 Malaysian film directed by Adrian Teh, Gold, starring Jack Tan as his titular role.