Yonghang had a less than pleasant stint leading the line at the Chicken Wings at a time when they were short of midfield talent and getting beat, but his sticking it out was rewarded with a contract with the Birds.
While usually eclipsed by his more-explosive strikemates Mohd Safri and Chow Ying Lee, Tian has managed to carve a niche for himself as provider, staying slightly deeper and looking for killer passes.
The late bloomer truly came into his own as he matured like a fine wine, ascending to the captaincy of the Grilled side in his mid-twenties, before presiding over the most cup-laden period of their history thus far.
To round off an eventful career, Tian further won his maiden international cap in a World Cup qualifier against Suriname at 32 years and 27 days old, scoring twice in a 6-0 victory, before becoming the first player - local or foreigner - to lift all four Singapore national club-level cups, at the ripe old age of 44.
