N. Thanabalan

Thanabalan a/l Nadarajah (Malay pronunciation: [ʈhaɳa]; born 25 February 1995) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as forward for Malaysia third division football league Malaysia M3 League (AFL)(M3) side Harini FT. He is known for his speed and heading accuracy and is widely regarded as one of the best forwards in Malaysia.

For the retired footballer, see Thanabalan Nadarajah (footballer, born 1943).

N. Thanabalan
Personal information
Full name Thanabalan a/l Nadarajah[1]
Date of birth (1995-02-25) 25 February 1995[2]
Place of birth Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia[3][4]
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[5]
Position(s) Forward[6] / Winger
Team information
Current team
 Harini FT
Number 12
Youth career
2013 Negeri Sembilan U-21[7]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2018 Negeri Sembilan 33 (6)
2017 → Felcra (loan) 12 (5)
2019 Kedah 12 (1)
2020 → Perak II (loan) 7 (0)
2021–2022 Sabah 5 (0)
2023- Harini FT 0 (0)
International career‡
2013 Malaysia U-19 8 (1)
2016–2018 Malaysia U-23 21 (11)
Medal record
Malaysia under-23
Sea Games
Silver medal – second placeSea Games 2017Football
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 October 2022
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 January 2018

Career

As a child Thanabalan regularly played football at school field of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil, Sungai Gadut, Seremban while trained by his own father.[8] He later furthered his education at Tunku Ismail Sports School in Johor.[9]

In 2013, Thanabalan signed five-year contract with Negeri Sembilan. He was listed to the senior team in 2013 season and was given the number 28 jersey. He made his debut in a 2-0 home defeat against Pahang on 22 May 2013, coming in as substitutes in the 68 minutes replacing Nazrin Nawi.[10] He also featured for the Negeri Sembilan U-21 in the Malaysia President's Cup.

In 2014 Thanabalan made his first ever league start for Negeri Sembilan against DRB-Hicom on 24 January 2014. He played for 68 minutes before being replaced by Fauzi Nan.[11]

During 2015 season, Thanabalan was allocated the number 33 shirt. Thanabalan made his first appearance of the 2015 season as a substitute in Negeri Sembilan's opening Liga Premier match, a 1–1 draw at home against Kuantan.[12] He made 14 appearances and scored 3 goals.[13]

Thanabalan was loan to FELCRA in 2017. He made his debut against Penjara FC in the 2017 Malaysia FA Cup. He made 13 appearances and scored 5 goals. He return to Negeri Sembilan in 2018 and made 12 appearances scoring 3 goals.

In 2019, he transferred to Kedah.[14] He made his debut in a 1-1 draw against Perak on 8 February 2019. He also won the 2019 Malaysia FA Cup and made 3 appearances in the competition.

In 2020 season, Thanabalan was loan to Perak II. He made his debut in a 2-2 draw against Sarawak United on 29 August 2020.

After his contract ended with Kedah, Thanabalan join Borneo based club Sabah and made a reunion with former Malaysia youth coach, Ong Kim Swee. He made 10 appearances in all competition for Sabah in 2021.[15]

In 2023 he joined second tier Malaysia M3 League side Harini FT,[16] alongside few others ex Malaysia national team players.

International career

Thanabalan was capped at youth level with Malaysia. He made 6 appearances and 4 goals in 2017 Southeast Asian Games.[17] He also played in the final against Thailand which Malaysia lost 0–1 due to an own goal scored by Malaysian keeper Haziq Nadzli.[18] Thanabalan was part of the national team that qualified for the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship that took place in China and he scored 2 goals in 3 appearances during the qualification matches.[19]

Personal life

Originated from Kampung Sagga,[20] Rantau in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Thanabalan the oldest child of S. Nadarajah, who is paralysed from the chest down following a road accident in 2013 and V. Thirusundari who is a housewife.[21][22] He has a younger brother and a younger sister, Keeteswaran and Keerthikaa.[23]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 20 November 2022[24][25]
Club performance League Cup League Cup Other Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Malaysia League FA Cup Malaysia Cup Other Total
2013Negeri SembilanMalaysia Super League200000–20
2014Malaysia Premier League200000–20
2015Malaysia Premier League14310–1[lower-alpha 1]0163
2016Malaysia Premier League301010–50
2018Malaysia Super League12300–0[lower-alpha 2]0123
Total 336201010376
2017Felcra FC (loan)[27]Malaysia FAM League12510––135
Total 12510––135
2019KedahMalaysia Super League1213020–171
Total 1213020–171
2020Perak IIMalaysia Premier League70–––70
Total 70–––70
2021SabahMalaysia Super League20–80–100
2022Malaysia Super League301020–60
Total 5010100–160
Career total 691270130109012
  1. Appearances in 2015 Piala Malaysia play-off.[26]
  2. Appearances in 2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup

International goals

Malaysia Under-23
As of 20 January 2018.
#DateVenueOpponentResultGoal ScoredCompetition
1.23 March 2016Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Malaysia Philippines4–11Friendly
2.20 March 2017Police Officers Club Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates China1–11Dubai Cup
3.26 March 2017Theab Awana, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Singapore3–11Dubai Cup
4.13 July 2017Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia Myanmar2–01Friendly
5.19 July 2017National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand Indonesia3–012018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
6.23 July 2017National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand Mongolia2–012018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
7.16 August 2017Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia Singapore2–11Football at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games
8.21 August 2017Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia Myanmar3–12Football at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games
9.
10.26 August 2017Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia Indonesia1–01Football at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games
11.20 January 2018Kunshan Stadium, Kunshan, China South Korea1–212018 AFC U-23 QF

Honours

Club
Kedah

International

Malaysia U-23

Silver Silver Medal: 2017[28]

References
  1. "Athlete profile". www.kualalumpur2017.com.my. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  2. "Thanabalan a/l Nadarajah Profile and Statistics". soccerpunter.com. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  3. "Namo den Thanabalan!". stadiumastro.com. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  4. "Kisah Disebalik Hero Baru Skuad B-22 Kebangsaan, N Thanabalan". orangnogori.com. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  5. "Felcra 2017". www.pengurusanbolasepakfam.org.my. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  6. "Malaysia's 20-man SEA Games squad profile". FourFourTwo. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  7. "Thanabalan enggan hampakan ayah". Harian Metro. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  8. "Dia anak Malaysia, kata ibu wira bola sepak Thanabalan". themalaysianinsight.com. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  9. "Match-winner Thanabalan says teamwork sent them to final". The Star. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  10. Liga Super Malaysia 2013 - Negeri Sembilan 0-2 Pahang, Stadium Astro.
  11. "Negeri Sembilan vs DRB-Hicom: Match report 24 January 2014". SPMB. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  12. "Negeri Sembilan vs Kuantan: Match report 12 February 2015". SPMB. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  13. N. Thabanalan - Malaysia Football League.
  14. Thanabalan sah milik Kedah - Berita Harian, 1 January 2019.
  15. https://labolamalaya.com/orang-mungkin-dah-tak-ingat-saya-itu-lumrah-dalam-bolasepak-thanabalan/ “Orang Mungkin Dah Tak Ingat Saya, Itu Lumrah Dalam Bolasepak” -Thanabalan - La Bola Malaya, 10 February 2022.
  16. "N. Thanabalan mahu pamer aksi terbaik bersama Harini FT".
  17. "Thanabalan thanks teammates, wants to score more". Goal.com. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  18. "Thailand leads 1-0 after own goal by Malaysian keeper". The Star. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  19. "Watch this space – Eight lower-league Malaysians destined for stardom". FourFourTwo. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  20. "Siapa N. Thanabalan, Jaringannya Julang Malaysia ke Final dalam buruan pingat emas". amazingnara.com. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  21. "N. Thanabalan : Antara Kerjaya Dan Tanggungjawab". boladaily.com. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  22. "Thanabalan mahu ubah nasib keluarga". sports247.my. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  23. "Thanabalan Mahu Menang Emas, Nak Ubah Nasib Keluarga". suara.tv. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  24. "N. Thanabalan". Soccerway.com. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  25. "Piala F.A Pusingan 2 : NS Matrix (2) vs (0) UiTM FC". laporansukanalammaya.blogspot.my. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  26. "ATM, JDT II lengkapkan slot 16 pasukan Piala Malaysia". utusan.com.my. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  27. "Thanabalan a hero both at home and on the field, says Chong". The Star. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  28. "SEA Games: Malaysia loses to Thailand 1-0 in football final". thestar.com.my. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
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