Ho Wai Loon
Ho Wai Loon (born 20 August 1993) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a defender for Singapore Premier League club Balestier Khalsa and the Singapore national team.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ho Wai Loon | ||
| Date of birth | 20 August 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Singapore | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Balestier Khalsa | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2012 | Balestier Khalsa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2013 | Balestier Khalsa | ||
| 2014–2016 | Balestier Khalsa | 21 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Warriors | 37 | (2) |
| 2019– | Lion City Sailors | 10 | (0) |
| 2021 | Balestier Khalsa (on loan) | 9 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2019– | Singapore U23 | 3 | (0) |
| 2017– | Singapore | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 February 2019 | |||
Club career
Balestier Khalsa
Ho started his footballing career in 2011, playing for Balestier Khalsa. Ho was released in 2013 but signed for Balestier again in 2014 for the 2014 S.League season.
In 2015, Ho tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) which took him out of play for more than a year.[2][3]
Warriors
He then signed for Warriors FC ahead of the 2017 S.League season. That was where he gained his first national team call up.
Home United
In January 2019, Ho joined fellow S.League club Home United.[4]
Balestier Khalsa
In March 2020, Ho fractured his right ankle during training.[2]
On 12 June 2021, Wai Loon returned to Balestier Khalsa on loan from Lion City Sailors till the end of the 2021 season. He joined the Tigers on loan for the rest of the season to regain his match fitness after fracturing his ankle during training. [5]
International career
Youth
Ho played at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games football tournament, although he was sent off for his second yellow card offence in Singapore's must win game against Indonesia U23.[6][7]
Senior
Ho was first called up to the senior side in 2017, as a standby player for the friendly against Afghanistan and the 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Bahrain on 23 and 28 March 2017 respectively.[8]
After being included in the national set-up for a year, Ho finally won his first cap for Singapore in a friendly against Fiji on 11 September 2018, coming on as a substitute in the 62nd minute.[9][10] Ho made his first start and second appearance for the national team against Cambodia on 16 October. However, he scored an own-goal and was eventually substituted early in the 46th minute.
Ho was called up in September 2022 by head coach Takayuki Nishigaya for international friendlies against Vietnam and India on 21 and 24 September.[11]
Others
Singapore Selection Squad
He was selected as part of the Singapore Selection squad for The Sultan of Selangor's Cup to be held on 6 May 2017.[12]
Career statistics
Club
As at 10 October 2021
| Club | Season | S.League | Singapore Cup | Singapore League Cup |
Asia | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Balestier Khalsa | 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| Warriors | 2017 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 23 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 2 | ||
| Total | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 3 | |
| Home United | 2019 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Lion City Sailors | 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Balestier Khalsa (on loan) | 2021 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Career Total | 31 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
International Statistics
International caps
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 September 2018 | Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore |  Fiji | 2-0 (won) | Friendly |
| 2 | 16 October 2018 | Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia |  Cambodia | 2-1 (won) | Friendly |
| 3 | 21 September 2022 | Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |  Vietnam | 0-4 (lost) | 2022 VFF Tri-Nations Series |
U19 International caps
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 November 2011 | Petaling Jaya Stadium, Selangor, Malaysia |  Indonesia | 0-3 (lost) | 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification |
| Singapore national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 |
Statistics accurate as of match played 12 October 2018
| Singapore national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 |
References
- Kenneth Tan (21 July 2015). "S.League: Balestier's Ho Wai Loon ready for Albirex rematch". ESPNFC. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- Auto, Hermes (30 July 2021). "Football: After 506 days of waiting, Ho Wai Loon is just happy to be playing ball again | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- "S.League: Tigers wary of Geylang wingers". ESPN.com. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- "Home United unveil Singapore left-back Ho Wai Loon as latest signing". Fox Sports. 2 January 2019.
- "Ho Wai Loon leaves Lion City Sailors to complete Balestier loan". Lion City Sailors FC. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- Tan, Carissa. "SEA Games Football: Ho Wai Loon sent off as Singapore fail to qualify for semis after losing 0–1 to Indonesia". RED SPORTS. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- Kelvin Leong (11 June 2015). "Hosts Singapore out of SEA Games after shock 1-0 defeat to Indonesia". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- "Call up for national team". Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- "Singapore put two past Fiji to record first win under Fandi Ahmad". FourFourTwo. 11 September 2018. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- "SG Ratings: Baihakki, Hariss and Mahler seal victory for Fandi Ahmad". FourFourTwo. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- "WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Sports happenings in Singapore (12-18 Sept)". sg.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- "SINGAPORE SELECTION SQUAD FOR THE SULTAN OF SELANGor's CUP REVEALED | the Football Association of Singapore". Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.