Richard Chin makes League One debut, first with Malaysian heritage to play in England's third tier

PETALING JAYA: A 19-year-old football player with Malaysian heritage has made his first start in League One of the English Football League (EFL).

Leftback Richard Chin, who plies his professional trade with Charlton Athletic, made his bow in the league when he played for 72 minutes in the club’s 1-1 Draw against East Green at the club's The Valley stadium in London on Tuesday (Sept 13).

This makes him the first player with Malaysian heritage to play a game in the third-ranked division in the English league.

Above League One is the Championship and then the biggest of them all, the Premier League.

Chin made an impression and was one of the standouts in defence for Charlton.

He won two out of his three tackles, made three clearances, won three out of four duels and notched two recoveries.

His passing percentage was also excellent, recording an 87% accuracy rate (39 out of 45 successful passes).

Chin was substituted with Charles Clayden in the 72nd minute.

Charlton are currently 14th in the league with 10 points from eight matches.

Richard has Malaysian ancestry thanks to his father who is Malaysian Chinese. His mother hails from Seychelles.

He has been with Charlton since he was six and made his first team debut in 2021 when he played against Leyton Orient in the EFL Trophy.