Nandhakumar Sekar
Nandhakumar Sekar (born 20 December 1995) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club East Bengal[1] and the India football team.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 20 December 1995 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Winger | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | East Bengal | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Hindustan Eagles | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Chennai City | 6 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → Delhi Dynamos (loan) | 9 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Odisha | 73 | (9) | |||||||||||
| 2023– | East Bengal | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | India U23 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2023– | India | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:15, 4 March 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:50, 18 June 2023 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||
Career
Sekar made his professional debut in the I-League with Chennai City on 19 February 2017 against Shillong Lajong. He started the match and played 51 minutes as Chennai City lost 4–1.[2] He scored his first professional goal for the club on 12 March 2017 against East Bengal. He scored the equalizing goal for Chennai City in the 57th minute which eventually led to the team winning 2–1.[3][4]
Odisha
On 17 August 2022, Sekar scored a stunning goal assisted by goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte in the season opener against NorthEast United in the Durand Cup, which ended in a thumping 6–0 win.[5][6]
East Bengal
On 10 June 2023, it was announced that Sekar joined East Bengal on a three-year contract.[7]
International career
He made his international debut for Indian U23 national team in a friendly against Singapore U23.
After his successful domestic spell with Odisha, Sekar was called up to senior national team in May 2023, for Hero Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championship.[8][9] Sekar made his debut for the senior team against Vanuatu on 12 June 2023.[10]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 10 June 2023[11]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | AFC | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chennai City | 2016–17 | I-League | 6 | 2 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | — | 9 | 2 | ||
| Delhi Dynamos (loan) | 2017–18 | Indian Super League | 9 | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | — | 10 | 1 | ||
| Delhi Dynamos | 2018–19 | Indian Super League | 14 | 2 | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | — | — | 17 | 3 | ||
| Odisha | 2019–20 | Indian Super League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 20 | 6 | 5[lower-alpha 2] | 4 | 5[lower-alpha 3] | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 31 | 11 | ||
| Odisha total | 59 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 70 | 12 | ||
| East Bengal | 2023–24 | Indian Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 88 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 106 | 18 | ||
- Appearance(s) in Federation Cup
- Appearance(s) in Super Cup
- Appearance(s) in Durand Cup
- Appearance(s) in Qualification for the AFC Cup group stage
References
- "East Bengal FC rope in winger Nandhakumar Sekar on a three-year contract". Indian Super League. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- "Chennai City 1-4 Shillong Lajong". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- "DELHI DYNAMOS SIGN NANDHA KUMAR ON A LOAN DEAL". Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- "Chennai City 2-1 East Bengal". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- "Half a dozen for Odisha FC to start the campaign!". odishafc.com. 17 August 2022. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- "NorthEast United 0 – 6 Odisha". the-aiff.com. 17 August 2022. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- Emami East Bengal (10 June 2023). "EMAMI EAST BENGAL FC SIGNS NANDHAKUMAR SEKAR ON A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT". Emami East Bengal. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- "Blue Tigers narrowed down to 27-member squad for Hero Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championship". AIFF. 19 May 2023. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- "Gurmeet Singh called up for Blue Tigers camp". AIFF. 27 May 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- "India 0-0 Vanuatu LIVE score, Intercontinental Cup updates: Chhetri gives IND the lead". The Hindu. 12 June 2023.
- Nandhakumar Sekar at Soccerway
- "Hindustan Eagles emerges champion". thehindu.com. The Hindu. 1 May 2015. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- Rawat, Akhil (25 April 2023). "Odisha FC bask in Kozhikode rain; beat Bengaluru FC to claim Hero Super Cup crown". the-aiff.com. Kozhikode: All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.