Chia Boon Leong

In this Chinese name, the family name is Xie.

Chia Boon Leong (simplified Chinese: 谢文龙; traditional Chinese: 謝文龍[1], 1 January 1925 – 20 December 2022) was a Singaporean footballer who competed for China in the 1948 Summer Olympics and for Singapore at the 1954 Asian Games.[2][3] He was known as "twinkletoes" in the football scene.[4]

Chia was born on 1 January 1925 to philanthropist Chia Yew Siang.[5] He grew up in Pasir Panjang, Singapore.[5] Chia attended Pasir Panjang English School and Raffles Institution.[5]

Chia was a founding member of the Pasir Panjang Rovers.[4]

During World War II and the Japanese occupation of Singapore, Chia studied at a Japanese school in Queen Street in late 1942.[4]

In mid-1943, Chia worked in a telegraphy company, where his work consists of sending and receiving messages in morse code.[4] Every day after work, he would go to Jalan Besar Stadium to play football for the Pasir Panjang Rovers.[4] Chia was also part of a Syonan team that travelled to Malaya to play against the state teams.[4]

Chia died on 20 December 2022, at the age of 97.[5]

  1. ^ "本地足球名将"闪电脚"谢文龙逝世 享年97岁". 8world (in Chinese (Singapore)). 21 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Chia Boon Leong". National Library Board Singapore. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Chia Boon Leong". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Gene, Ng Keng (13 February 2022). "Ex-footballer recounts Japanese Occupation years; journey from execution screening to 1948 Olympics". The New Paper. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Lee, David (21 December 2022). "S'pore's only Olympic footballer 'Twinkletoes' Chia Boon Leong dies at 97 | The Straits Times". The Straits Times. Retrieved 21 December 2022.