KUALA LUMPUR: Former national football player Yap Eng Kock, who was a member of the Malaysian team that qualified for the 1972 Munich Olympics , died on Thursday. He was 71.
The Munich Olympics was the first and only time Malaysia played in the football competition of the Olympics. Malaysia also qualified for the Moscow Olympics of 1980 but pulled out due to a boycott because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1989.
Eng Kock was a member of the national team that booked the ticket for the Munich Olympics during the qualifiers in Seoul but did not travel with the squad to Germany.
His brother, Yap Eng Hock, 62, said Eng Kock died at the Melaka Hospital due to liver complications that he had been suffering from since two months ago.
“The doctors pronounced him dead yesterday morning and confirmed it was due to his illness. The funeral procession will be held at 10am on Monday before cremation at the Serene Park Crematorium (in Batu Berendam, Melaka).
“The wake is being held at his residence at 21, Jalan Malim Jaya 2/11, Taman Malim Permai, Melaka,”he told Bernama.
Eng Kock was also a member of the national football contingent to the SEAP Games in 1969. The SEAP Games is now known as the SEA Games.
Among his contemporaries are Malaysian football legends Datuk Dell Akbar Khan and Datuk Soh Chin Aun. Eng Kock also helped Selangor win the Malaysia Cup in 1971 and 1972 and had played for the Royal Malaysia Police FA.
He was a much-feared striker in the Merdeka Tournament from the 1960s to 1972 . It is a friendly tournament held in Malaysia to honour Malaysia’s Independence Day.
Eng Kock, who was born in Johor, leaves behind wife Pow Mai Wan and daughters Yap Lee Lin and Yap Lee Ann. — Bernama
