Yap a kind but no-nonsense coach

In his roles as a lecturer, coach and administrator, former national football coach Yap Boon Chuan always came across as a no-nonsense figure, who was also fatherly and kind.

And it is these characteristics by which his many students and colleagues remember him.

Yap, believed to be in his early 90s, died on Sunday night.

The Straits Times understands that he had not been well for some time.

In the football scene, he is best known for leading Singapore to fourth place at the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok. This remains the Lions' best Asiad finish.

Striker Andy Yeo, who was part of the team, recalled Yap was a strict coach who implemented a rigorous fitness regimen when he took charge just three months before the Games.

Yeo, 75, said: "He wanted perfection and he wanted results. We did a lot of weight training and a lot of running but at the end of the day, we were super fit."

The fitness training paid off as Singapore had to play four games in four days, beating the likes of South Vietnam and Thailand to reach the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual winners Burma.

The Republic then lost 2-0 to Japan in the third-place play-off.

Yap later held roles in the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), such as chairman of the referees' committee and technical committee.

But he did not impose his ideas on others, said former national coach Jita Singh, who led Singapore to the 1980 Malaysia Cup.

"He may suggest something but it was up to me," said Jita, adding that it gave him confidence that what he was doing was right.

Yap was also an educator whose roles included physical education lecturer at the Teachers' Training College.

One of his students, Robert Tan, said Yap's nickname was "Papa Yap" because he was a fatherly figure who was caring and kind.

Tan, 81, also worked with Yap during his time as the director of sports excellence at the Singapore Sports Council (now Sport Singapore) when Yap conducted courses for coaches.

He said: "Mr Yap is a very high-spirited person who would make jokes and pass witty remarks. He looked after himself very well and looked good even in old age."

Illustrating this point, Tan said that whenever someone told Yap he looked good, he would quip "charming on the outside, but alarming on the inside".

The details of Yap's wake have been kept private.