Road to redemption

PHOTOS: The New Paper, Berita Harian

After bring embroiled in the worst footbrawl in S-League history when they came to blows with players from Beijing Guoan Talent FC last September, strikers Khairul Nizam and Fairoz Hassan, defender Madhu Mohana and midfielder Gabriel Quak were fined up to $2,000, and received suspensions between four and eight months.

They were in limbo, left fearing that their fledgling football careers would be destroyed even before they actually took off.

But when three of them – Khairul, Madhu and Quak – received the invitation to join the LionsXII, Singapore's first team to grace the M-League in 17 years, it was another milestone to mark their steady but significant rise from that darkest hour, much like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes.

More in The New Paper on Friday (Dec 9).