Sunny had a long career, but he wasn't famous. However, as Singapore's starting goalkeeper, 40-year-old Hassan Sunny reached the height of his fame in the final stages of his career. In the final round of the 36-team second stage of the preliminaries. China faced an exit at that time. If you got a big score between Thailand and Singapore, then China would be eliminated and miss out on the round of 18. For Chinese soccer, this is the equivalent of preparing for the next World Cup four years in advance, which is unacceptable.
However, in this match, although Singapore was 1:3 against Thailand, China still beat Thailand on goal difference to thrillingly advance to the last 18. In this match, Sunny was very brave and made 11 saves in the whole match. Had it not been for Sunny's brave performance, Thailand would have beaten Singapore by a big margin. If China had lost, Thailand would have advanced to the last 18 with their heads held high. It was Sunny's presence that directly dashed Thailand's dream of advancing and indirectly helped China reach the Top 18.
It's safe to say that the brave performance in that game was a win-win situation. The national soccer team advanced, and Sonny had the crowning moment and crowning achievement of his career. With Sonny's help, his fame in China increased dramatically. To thank him, many fans directly paid money to the QR code of his restaurant and even made the bank freeze his account temporarily. In addition, Sonny has also gained advertising endorsements. Invited to participate in Chinese events, he was warmly welcomed by fans in China. One thing Sonny also said when he was moved was that he is of Chinese descent. Sonny said, "My father's grandfather was Chinese, he was Chinese."
