Hadi Fayyadh wrote his name into J-League history books as the first Malaysian to play in the Japanese league pyramid.

The 22-year-old Azul Claro Numazu forward, on loan from Fagiano Okayama, came on for his J3 League debut as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Vanraure Hachinohe on Thursday.

In doing so, he also became the second Malaysian to play professionally in Japan after Wan Zack Haikal Wan Noor, who played for FC Ryukyu in the Japan Football League in 2013.

The debut was a long time coming for the former Johor Darul Ta'zim youngster, whose time in Japan since December 2018 was hampered by injuries and fitness concerns, most recently an anterior cruciate ligament injury that he suffered in April last year.

Hadi is set to feature at the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, next month after being called up for the Malaysia U-23s' centralised training camp.