Cheah Liek Hou breathed a sigh of relief as he ended a five-year World Championships heartache against bogey pair Dheva Anrimusthi/Hafizh Briliansyah Prawiranegara with a 21-11 19-21 21-10 SU5 men’s doubles win alongside Muhammad Fareez Anuar, marking his first triumph over the Indonesians.

Previously, Cheah and former partner Mohamad Faris Ahmad Azri succumbed to the duo in the semifinal in 2019 and final in 2022.

“It’s a great feeling to finally come out on top against them,” expressed Cheah joyfully. “I’ve been waiting for this moment to try and find a way past them. Now I can finally put the ghost to bed.

“We watched our previous matches with them to learn how we could improve. We lost to them at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou in three close games. We needed to attack more and that’s what we did.”

Anuar agreed: “Attacking was key. In the second game, the Indonesians changed their strategy and we felt lost. In the third, we played our normal game and remained calm.”

The 36-year-old Cheah, also through to SU5 men’s singles final at the NSDF Royal Beach Cliff BWF Para Badminton World Championships 2024, will play the doubles gold medal match against Chirag Baretha/Raj Kumar after the Indians survived a stiff challenge from Li Mingpan/Shi Shenzhuo. They won 21-19 18-21 21-19.

Meanwhile, Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj overpowered Lucas Mazur in the SL4 men’s singles semifinal to end the reigning champion’s campaign in Pattaya. Yathiraj defeated the Frenchman 21-16 21-19.

“I lost to Mazur in the Tokyo 2020 final and since then I’ve been training to defeat him,” said the Indian. “Because of the draws, I’ve not had the opportunity to play him the last few years.

“Because he’s very good at steep shots, I sparred with partners who were of the same height and did special drills to ensure I’d be able to defend against players like him. We have a bittersweet rivalry.”

Asked about him jumping over the A boards after the match, Yathiraj said: “It’s sweet revenge. And that’s why I just let my emotions out after the last point. The celebration wasn’t planned.”

→ Results (Day 5)

→ Order of play (Day 6)

WHAT OTHERS SAID:

“It was a marathon match. It always is with Kumar. He has one of the best strokes in SL3. He’s difficult to beat. He’s skilful and consistent.” – Daniel Bethell about his respect for Kumar Nitesh, despite an 8-0 head-to-head lead

“We were so excited to be in the semifinal, it was a dream-come-true. Now we really want the gold medal but reaching the final is beyond any expectations we had.” – Home hopes Siripong Teamarrom/Mongkhon Bunsun after making their first World Championships final

“I had the belief going into the match. I lost the last four matches to her but didn’t think about that. I had to keep pushing her into the backhand corner, I could see she was struggling and the frustration was showing.” – Manisha Ramadass on how she overcame her SU5 women’s singles challenger Maud Lefort 19-21 21-12 21-14

“I’m so thankful to be playing in the final. It’s everything I’ve been working hard for. I’d like to defend my title but I will need a lot of strength and speed to beat Liu Yu Tong.” – Pilar Jauregui Cancino after her WH2 women’s singles win over Yuma Yamazaki