Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny -- who went viral in China back in June -- has announced his retirement from international football at the age of 40.
Having won his first cap for the Lions two decades ago, Hassan departs the international scene with 115 caps to his name and having featured at numerous ASEAN Championships -- including in 2020 when he was named in the Team of the Tournament.
In an announcement on his official Instagram account, he called his time with the national team "a roller coaster ride" but added: "I have cherished every moment. It was always an honour to represent my country.
Hassan was unlucky not to play a key role in an earlier era of success for Singapore, most notably missing on the 2012 ASEAN Championship triumph due to injury where he would have undoubtedly been the first-choice custodian while being back-up to Lionel Lewis in the title-winning campaigns of 2004 and 2007 when he was still a relatively young prospect.
Having faced stiff competition for the Lions No. 1 jersey throughout his career -- first from Lewis and then Izwan Mahbud -- Hassan had largely been a mainstay in the starting XI for the past decade or so.
While his only stint abroad was in Thailand with the now-defunct Army United, Hassan gained an overseas cult following earlier this year after his heroic display in a 3-1 loss to the Thais inadvertently helped China qualify for the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by the narrowest of margins.
Despite Singapore losing, Hassan's 11 saves prevented Thailand -- who needed to win by three goals -- to pip China to a place in the next round of the World Cup qualifiers.
In the days that immediately followed, a food stall in Singapore owned by Hassan was heavily patronised by Chinese nationals while some even transferred money directly through the eatery's QR code -- although Hassan would donate this charity.
Hassan has since been invited to make several public appearances in China and has had a notable increase in commercial partnerships.
Regardless of his newfound fame in China, Hassan will go down as one of Singapore's greatest goalkeepers at, at his peak, was among the best in all of Asia.
"Now, the time has come for me to step aside and let the younger goalkeepers take over," Hassan added.
"I will always give my utmost support to the goalkeeping department and the team, and will always be rooting for them."
His international retirement does leave a huge void to fill considering Izwan, who would ordinarily have been a clear successor, is only just returning to first-team action after recovering from a serious injury.
Even after regaining full fitness, Izwan has had to bide his time at Lion City Sailors after the emergence of Zharfan Rohaizad but the latter -- and Geylang International's Hairul Syirhan -- are both yet to be capped despite being 27 and 28 respectively and having been included in recent squads.
Meanwhile, the more-experienced Syazwan Buhari and Zaiful Nizam -- among the Singapore Premier League's most-consistent shot-stoppers -- combine for just seven international appearances.
Hassan, a four-time league champion in Singapore and still the only goalkeeper to have won the domestic Player of the Year award, will continue to play at club level with Albirex Niigata (S).