Former Malaysia goalkeeper Chow Chee Keong passes away

Chow Chee Keong has passed away at the age of 69 on Wednesday morning.

The former goalkeeper was admitted to the Universiti Malaysia Medical Centre on Tuesday due to heart complication.

His son, Adrian, posted on Facebook: "At 8.08am today (21.2.2018), my dad, Chow Chee Keong, left us peacefully. He fought long and hard for a long time to stay with us."

Chow was one of the first Malaysian players to turn professional, signing for Jardine SA in 1970 before going on to spend the majority of his career in Hong Kong.

Prior to that, he had a short stint playing for Bedford Town in England.

At international level, he made his senior debut for Malaysia at the age of 15 and won the Merdeka Tournament in 1968.

Due to his outstanding goalkeeping performances, Chow was named as the best goalkeeper for five consecutive years from 1966 to 1970 by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

He was also voted one of the best Asian goalkeepers of the 20th century in a poll conducted by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFHHS).

(Picture: Tony Mariadass)