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 and the India national team.

Nandhakumar Sekar

Personal information
Full name	Nandhakumar Sekar
Date of birth	(1995-12-20) 20 December 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	East Bengal
Number	11
Youth career
2014–2017	Hindustan Eagles
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2018	Chennai City	6	(2)
2017–2018	→ Odisha (loan)	9	(1)
2018–2023	Odisha	82	(10)
2023–	East Bengal	19	(5)
International career‡
2017–2018	India U23	5	(0)
2023–	India	6	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing  India SAFF Championship Winner 2023 India
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:37, 1 June 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:50, 9 September 2024 (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.^[1] 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.^[2][3]

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.^[4][5]

East Bengal

On 10 June 2023, it was announced that Sekar joined East Bengal on a three-year contract.^[6]

International career

He made his international debut for Indian U23 national team in a friendly against Singapore U23.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[7][8] Sekar made his debut for the senior team against Vanuatu on 12 June 2023.^[9]

Career statistics

Club

As of matches played 21 August 2024^[10]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup[lower-alpha 1]		AFC		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Chennai City	2016–17	I-League	6	2	3	0	—		—		9	2
Odisha (loan)	2017–18	Indian Super League	9	1	1	0	—		—		10	1
Odisha	2018–19		14	2	3	1	—		—		17	3
	2019–20		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	10[lower-alpha 2]	5	1[lower-alpha 3]	0	—		31	11
	Odisha total		82	10	9	6	0	0	6	1	97	16
East Bengal	2023–24	Indian Super League	19	5	11[lower-alpha 4]	4	—		1[lower-alpha 5]	1	31	10
	2024–25		0	0	1[lower-alpha 6]	1	1[lower-alpha 7]	0	0	0	2	1
	East Bengal total		19	5	12	5	1	0	1	1	33	11
Career total			107	17	24	11	2	0	7	1	140	29

1. Includes Federation Cup, Super Cup and Durand Cup.
2. Five appearances and one goal in Durand Cup, and five appearances and four goals in Super Cup.
3. One appearance in Qualification for the AFC Cup group stage
4. Six Appearances and two goals in Durand Cup and five appearances and two goals in Super Cup.
5. One Appearance in the Calcutta Football League.
6. One Appearance and one goal in Durand Cup.
7. One Appearance in AFC Champions League Two.

International

As of match played 9 September 2024^[11]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
India	2023	3	0
	2024	3	0
Total		6	0

Honours

Hindustan Eagles

• Chennai Football League: 2014–15^[12]

Odisha

• Super Cup: 2023^[13]

East Bengal

• Super Cup: 2024
• Durand Cup runner-up: 2023

India

• SAFF Championship: 2023
• Intercontinental Cup: 2023

Individual

• Most Valuable Player of Durand Cup: 2023

References

1. "Chennai City 1-4 Shillong Lajong". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
2. "DELHI DYNAMOS SIGN NANDHA KUMAR ON A LOAN DEAL". Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
3. "Chennai City 2-1 East Bengal". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
4. "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.
5. "NorthEast United 0 – 6 Odisha". the-aiff.com. 17 August 2022. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
6. Emami East Bengal (10 June 2023). "EMAMI EAST BENGAL FC SIGNS NANDHAKUMAR SEKAR ON A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT". Emami East Bengal. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
7. "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.
8. "Gurmeet Singh called up for Blue Tigers camp". AIFF. 27 May 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
9. "India 0-0 Vanuatu LIVE score, Intercontinental Cup updates: Chhetri gives IND the lead". The Hindu. 12 June 2023. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
10. Nandhakumar Sekar at Soccerway
11. Nandhakumar Sekar at National-Football-Teams.com
12. "Hindustan Eagles emerges champion". thehindu.com. The Hindu. 1 May 2015. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
13. 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.