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Still a teenager, he hardly flinched in a shuddering challenge with Argentina captain Javier Mascherano, when Liverpool played Singapore.
He ensured the Chinese engine room never quite got their act together in another friendly earlier this year.
Two weeks ago, he was a proud Lion, roaming the Rajamangala green in Bangkok, standing guard magnificently as the Lions vanquished Thailand 1-0 in an Asian Cup qualifier.
Only 19, I wonder what will be going through Hariss Harun's mind when he walks out onto the pitch Saturday afternoon at the National Stadium in Vientiane, Laos.
I wonder what swim star Tao Li will think as she prepares to shoot off the blocks at the National Sports Complex, and what Feng Tianwei will contemplate when she goes into battle with her bat at the Convention Hall at the National University in Vientiane.
All three are Singapore stars used to lofty competition or individual opponents who fetch eye-opening prices if talent is for sale, this time they will duel in the SEA Games arena.
This is Laos' showpiece, the people are eager to please as the country hosts its first Games, which will officially open on Wednesday and run for nine days before athletic combat is declared over.
This is the 25th edition of South-east Asia's biggest sports spectacle, and Laos will hope to use it as a springboard as the country's sporting programme strives to play catch-up with the "big boys" of Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore. All of which are, these days, aiming for big prizes in Asia, and on the grandest stage of all, the Olympic Games.
It means gold is no longer enough for Singapore's elite athletes - personal bests are required if the SEA Games in Laos is to be used as a stepping stone to greater accomplishments. It is why triple jumper Stefan Tseng, 19, is gunning for a new national record.It is why Singapore's silat exponents will need to take down world champions, if they are to have a successful Games.
Perhaps it is time for that clock in the bottom right-hand corner of our television screens, the one marked AR, to be threatened by Tao Li (picture) when she takes the plunge in the women's 100m butterfly final.
For so long, we have watched our swimmers and the region's best track and field athletes finish the proverbial mile away from the Asian record.
Singapore's track and field contingent have no one even remotely capable of flirting with the mark in any event, but Tao Li is world-class and, crucially, hungry to go even faster than her current best.
There are many who argue sport must still be fun and they are not wrong. That is the essence of sport. But for so many of Singapore's athletes who will march in the opening ceremony under the Laotian sky on Wednesday night, the ultimate dream is also to succeed further afield. They choose to be deadly serious about getting to the top.
Today, it has become possible for such top athletes to aim for a medal at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, world championships and the Olympics. While funding for sports can still be improved, the Government is firmly behind them and the Ministry of Defence will support top male athletes with their National Service schedule.
The Singapore Sports Council will improve their sports science and sports medicine department continuously; some of the national sports associations employ top coaches and technical experts already.
The Singapore Sports School will have a number of graduates and current students in Laos, the institution will be eager to see them move up a notch with their performance at the Games.
Among the debutants will be 12-year-old Samantha Yeo from CHIJ St Nicholas, who will swim in the 200m breastroke. The whole of Raffles Girls School will look out for Goh Jia Yi, 14, who will take aim in the 10m air rifle competition.
There will be no pressure on them, the hope is that their experience at the Games will turn their heads towards a career in sport.
Singapore's athletic hopefuls in the Laotian capital will number 195 and they will compete across 18 sports. Two years ago in Korat, Thailand, Singapore brought home a treasure chest of 43 golds. That is unlikely to be matched as the Republic's serial gold hunters, the sailors and bowlers, will be missing due to the trimmed-down version of these Games. But quality is what Singapore should be after, anyway.
If midfielder Hariss can take control of the Singapore under-23 team's opening match against Indonesia on Saturday, and exert his influence on the whole of the football tournament, I am confident they can do great damage in the competition.
Table tennis star Feng, the women's world No 6 at just 23, must cruise to four golds and inspire the rest of the team.
Tao Li will win a bag of golds, I hope to watch her turn in a swim for the ages in the 100 fly.
Fifty years ago, weightlifter Tan Howe Liang won gold in the 1st SEAP Games in the lightweight category. One year later, Tan went on to win silver in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.
There is no more emphatic way of using a stepping stone. - TODAY
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