PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and other leaders and sportsmen have congratulated Faiz Subri on his FIFA Puskas Award win.
"Congratulations Faiz Subri! Your success in the #FIFAPuskasAward 2016 has brought inspiration to many footballers in Malaysia and has brought pride to the country," said Najib on Twitter.
Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that he was "so proud" of the 29-year-old Penang striker.
"Congratulations, Faiz. Once in a lifetime goal," tweeted Khairy on Tuesday.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong added that Faiz has "brought pride to Malaysia in the international football arena".
Malaysian international midfielder Brendan Gan also congratulated Faiz on his "amazing goal".
"Well deserved! You have single-handedly brought great attention to the Malaysia Super League (MSL)," tweeted Gan.
Former Penang footballer Brent Griffiths was another one to tweet his congratulations.
"Congratulations on winning the @FIFAcom Puskas goal. It was a pleasure to witness and play with you," tweeted Australian national Griffiths.
Faiz scored a spellbinding goal against Pahang in a Malaysian Super League match on Feb 16.
The ball was heading towards one corner but ended up deceptively in the other, leaving the Pahang goalkeeper - and football fans around the world - dumbfounded.
Faiz garnered 59.46% of the votes for the Puskas Award to pip Brazil's Johnath Marlone Azevedo da Silva (22.86%) and Venezuela's woman player Daniuska Rodriguez (10.01%) to the award, first won by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.
