Nikhil Poojary

Nikhil Chandra Shekhar Poojary (born 3 September 1995) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or winger for Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team.

Nikhil Poojary

Personal information
Full name	Nikhil Chandra Shekhar Poojary[1]
Date of birth	(1995-09-03) 3 September 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Mangaluru, Karnataka
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Right-back, winger
Team information
Current team	Bengaluru
Number	27
Youth career
	Ryan FC
	Dodsal
	Mumbai
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2018	East Bengal	14	(0)
2018–2019	Pune City	9	(1)
2019–2024	Hyderabad	79	(1)
2024–	Bengaluru	2	(0)
International career‡
2017–2018	India U23	5	(0)
2017–	India	29	(1)
Medal record Men's football Representing  India SAFF Championship Winner 2023 India Runner-up 2018 Bangladesh
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:43, 7 February 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:00, 13 June 2024 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Mangalore, Karnataka Poojary started his career with Ryan FC in Mumbai.^[2] While with Ryan FC, Poojary was selected to play for the Maharashtra under-19 side in the school games nationals.^[3] Poojary soon joined the youth side of Mumbai before signing with Kolkata giants East Bengal in 2015.

Poojary made his first-team debut for East Bengal on 4 August 2016 in their opening Calcutta Football League fixture against Bhawanipore. He came on as a 78th minute substitute for Jiten Murmu as East Bengal won 2–1.^[4] Poojary scored his first goal for the club on 23 September 2016 during the group stage match of the Bordoloi Trophy against Bongobi Agragami of Bangladesh. His strike in the 87th minute was the last goal in a 6–0 victory.^[5]

On September 19th, 2024, Poojary made his 100th appearance in Indian Super League, making him 48th overall and 38th Indian player to achieve this mark.

Bengaluru FC

After leaving Hyderabad he joined another Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC.

International career

He scored his first international goal against Maldives in the 2018 SAFF Championship.

Career statistics

Club

As of 21 March 2024^[6]

Club	Season	League			Cup		AFC		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
East Bengal	2016–17	I-League	14	0	2[a]	0	—		6[b]	1[c]	22	1
	2017–18		0	0	0	0	—		2[d]	1	2	1
	Total		14	0	2	0	0	0	8	2	24	2
Pune City	2018–19	Indian Super League	9	1	2[e]	0	—		—		11	1
Hyderabad	2019–20		18	0	0	0	—		—		18	0
	2020–21		10	0	0	0	—		—		10	0
	2021–22		19	1	0	0	—		—		19	1
	2022–23		21	0	7[f]	0	—		—		29	0
	2023–24		11	0	0	0	—		—		11	0
	Total		79	1	7	0	0	0	0	0	86	1
Bengaluru	2023–24	Indian Super League	7	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
Career total			109	2	11	0	0	0	8	2	128	3

1. Appearances in Federation Cup
2. 4 Appearances in Calcutta Football League and 2 Appearances in Bordoloi Trophy
3. Goal in Calcutta Football League
4. Appearances in Calcutta Football League
5. Appearances in Super Cup
6. 5 Appearances in Durand Cup and 2 Appearances in Super Cup

International

As of 13 January 2024^[7]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
India	2017	2	0
	2018	5	1
	2019	1	0
	2023	13	0
	2024	2	0
Total		22	1

International goals

Scores and results list India's goal tally first

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	9 September 2018	Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh	4	Maldives	1–0	2–0	2018 SAFF Championship	[8]

Honours

India

• SAFF Championship: 2023
• Tri-Nation Series: 2017
• Intercontinental Cup: 2023

Hyderabad

• Indian Super League: 2021–22^[9]