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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 heading accuracy and is widely regarded as one of the best forwards in Malaysia.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thanabalan a/l Nadarajah[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 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
| ||||||||||||||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 January 2018 | ||||||||||||||
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 a 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 substitute in the 68th minute 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 the 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 loaned 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 returned 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 the 2020 season, Thanabalan was loaned 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 joined Borneo-based club Sabah and made a reunion with former Malaysia youth coach, Ong Kim Swee. He made 10 appearances in all competitions 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.
Thanabalan was capped at youth level with Malaysia. He made 6 appearances and 4 goals in the 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]
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. His cousin, R.Sasikumar, plays for Kampung Rawa FC as a passing midfielder.[23]
Club
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Malaysia | League | FA Cup | Malaysia Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
| 2013 | Negeri Sembilan | Malaysia Super League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |
| 2014 | Malaysia Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | Malaysia Premier League | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 16 | 3 | ||
| 2016 | Malaysia Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | Malaysia Super League | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | 0[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 12 | 3 | ||
| Total | 33 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 6 | ||
| 2017 | Felcra FC (loan)[27] | Malaysia FAM League | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 5 | ||
| Total | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 5 | ||||
| 2019 | Kedah | Malaysia Super League | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 17 | 1 | |
| Total | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 17 | 1 | |||
| 2020 | Perak II | Malaysia Premier League | 7 | 0 | – | – | – | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 7 | 0 | – | – | – | 7 | 0 | |||||
| 2021 | Sabah | Malaysia Super League | 2 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | – | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | Malaysia Super League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | – | 16 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 69 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 12 | ||
- Appearances in 2015 Piala Malaysia play-off.[26]
- Appearances in 2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup
Malaysia Under-23
- As of 20 January 2018.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Goal Scored | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 23 March 2016 | Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Malaysia |  Philippines | 4–1 | 1 | Friendly |
| 2. | 20 March 2017 | Police Officers Club Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  China | 1–1 | 1 | Dubai Cup |
| 3. | 26 March 2017 | Theab Awana, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  Singapore | 3–1 | 1 | Dubai Cup |
| 4. | 13 July 2017 | Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia |  Myanmar | 2–0 | 1 | Friendly |
| 5. | 19 July 2017 | National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand |  Indonesia | 3–0 | 1 | 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification |
| 6. | 23 July 2017 | National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand |  Mongolia | 2–0 | 1 | 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification |
| 7. | 16 August 2017 | Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia | Singapore | 2–1 | 1 | Football at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games |
| 8. | 21 August 2017 | Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia | Myanmar | 3–1 | 2 | Football at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games |
| 9. | ||||||
| 10. | 26 August 2017 | Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia | Indonesia | 1–0 | 1 | Football at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games |
| 11. | 20 January 2018 | Kunshan Stadium, Kunshan, China |  South Korea | 1–2 | 1 | 2018 AFC U-23 QF |
Club
- Kedah
- Malaysia FA Cup: 2019
- Malaysia Cup: Runner-up 2019
International
Malaysia U-23
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