LIEK HOU CROWNED WORLD MEN'S PARA BADMINTON PLAYER OF THE YEAR

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Not one but two awards were won by national badminton champion Cheah Liek Hou at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Gala in Hangzhou, China, last night.

The award received by the two-time Paralympic Games gold medallist was the best male para player, beating his challengers Daiki Kajiwara from Japan, Kumar Nitesh (India) and Park Hae Seong (South Korea).

In addition, the 37-year-old player and his partner Mohd Fareez Anuar were also named the best male doubles pair.

“It is very meaningful for me because this is the first time I won this award. I would like to thank BWF for recognising that I’m one of the best athletes of 2025,” he said as reported by BWF

Meanwhile, Chinese player Shi Yu Qi won two awards at the ceremony, namely the best male singles player, thus qualifying him to be named the best male player in the world.

The same script also featured South Korean star, An Se Young who won the best women's singles player award and was subsequently crowned the best women's player in the world.

Meanwhile, in the men's doubles category, the South Korean pair, Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae won the best men's doubles title, defeating two national pairs, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.

In the women's doubles category, the Chinese pair Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning won while the best mixed doubles went to the Thai pair Dechapol Puavranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran.

-- BERNAMA