His Name In Lights
Tian Yonghang shook off the disappointment of the Singapore Masters semifinal loss in short order as he made his first start for the national team, partnering his erstwhile Be Champions FC midfield foes to a six-nil thumping of Suriname at home.
The Grilled captain took to the big stage like a fish to water, striking in the 43rd and 72nd minutes. National team regular Lim Long Wen got a brace too, with Dong Kwang Long and Ibrahim Wahab claiming the remaining two, as Singapore took an early lead atop Group 3.
Tian was radiant on Grilled's in-house TV channel, at least until the program hosts turned the topic to his goals; this was the cue for his longtime strike partner
Mohd Safri bin Mohd Kassim to pop in, and cheerily note that while two on an international debut was impressive, it was not
quite a hat-trick, which, Mohd Safri hastened to remind all present, he had achieved.
Had the duo not been playing alongside each other since their youth days in the Chicken Wings, it
could have been possible to read more into Tian's expression than he had intended, but as it was the diplomatic fellow swiftly laughed it off, though he did appear to complete the remainder of the interview with a slight grinding of teeth.
