Ishan Pandita

Ishan Pandita (born 26 May 1998) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Jamshedpur and the India national team.

Ishan Pandita
Personal information
Date of birth (1998-05-26) 26 May 1998
Place of birth New Delhi, India
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Jamshedpur
Number 45
Youth career
2014–2015 Alcobendas
2015–2016 Almería
2016–2019 Leganés
2019 Gimnàstic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Pobla Mafumet 1 (0)
2019–2020 Lorca 26 (6)
2020–2021 Goa 11 (4)
2021– Jamshedpur 15 (3)
National team‡
2021– India 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:18, 4 March 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:30, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

Nicknamed as the Super Sub because of his ability to score late match winning goals in the game. More than 80% of his goals have came after the 75th minute.

Club career

Early and youth career

Pandita arrived in Spain in 2014 at the age of 16 and joined Alcobendas Juvenil.[1] In 2015, he joined the Under-18 team of La Liga club Almería but he did not sign a professional contract as he had not turned 18 that time.[2] In the 2016, he joined the U-19 team of Leganés.[3] He was the first ever Indian footballer to play for a Juvenil side of a Spanish top division club.[4][5] After a spell at Leganes, he signed a short-term contract with the U-23 team of Gimnàstic on 5 January 2019.

Pobla Mafumet

Ishan signed his first senior contract for the farm club of Gimnàstic, Pobla Mafumet in early 2019.[6] He played only one match for the club throughout his debut season and left the club.[7]

Lorca

In August 2019, he signed a one-year deal with Tercera Division Club Lorca. He played 26 matches and scored 6 goals and was the top scorer for the club in the 2019–20 season.[8]

Goa

Initially he and his family wanted to stay in Spain, but due to the COVID-19 situation it was difficult to find a club for him.[9] In early 2020, rumours spread about Pandita's return to India and it was speculated that he might sign for Goa.[10][11] In October 2020, the club revealed that it had secured Pandita in their squad.[12][13] He made his debut for FC Goa on 30 November 2020 against NorthEast United at 89th minute of that match as a substitute.[14][15] He scored his debut goal for FC Goa against Hyderabad on 30 December 2020. He came as a substitute on 86th minute and scored with his first touch on the 87th minute as FC Goa equalised the game.[16]

He has also represented FC Goa at the 2021 AFC Champions League.[17]

Jamshedpur

On 2 September 2021, it was announced that Pandita was signed by Jamshedpur on a two-year deal for a fee reported around ₹6 Million, ahead of the 2021–22 Indian Super League season.[18] He scored his first goal for the club in their 3–2 win against NorthEast United on 6 January 2022.

International career

Pandita's performances in his debut season in the ISL were noticed, and subsequently he earned a call-up to the India national team in March 2021, ahead of India's friendlies against Oman and UAE.[19] On 25 March, he made his debut in 1–1 draw against Oman.

Personal life

Though he was born in New Delhi, Pandita is of Kashmiri descent as his family hails from Kashmir.[20][21] He then moved to Bengaluru.[22] In 2014 Pandita moved to Spain for better training of his football talent and skills.[23] After spending a term of six years in various lower division Spanish clubs he returned to India and signed for Goa.[24][10]

Career statistics
As of 25 February 2022[25]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Pobla Mafumet 2018-19 Tercera División 1000–10
Lorca 2019–20 23421–255
Goa 2020–21 Indian Super League 114006[lower-alpha 1]0174
Jamshedpur 2021–22 14300–143
Career total 491021605711
  1. Appearances in the AFC Champions League

Honours

Jamshedpur

See also

References
  1. "18-Year-Old Bengaluru Boy Becomes First Indian to Sign a Contract with Spanish Football League". The Better India. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  2. Maxin Mathew (5 October 2016). "Ishan Pandita: Ishan becomes first Indian to sign for Spanish La Liga club | Football News – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  3. "Five things you must know about new FC Goa signing Ishan Pandita". Khelnow. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "ISL: Who is Ishan Pandita, FC Goa's exciting new recruit?". The Week. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. "FC Goa Players | Squad List & Player Bios". fcgoa.in. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  6. Kundu, Abhishek (14 January 2019). "India's Ishan Pandita joins La Liga II club Gimnastic de Tarragona from CD Leganes". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  7. "Ishan Pandita - Profile and Player Statistics - SoccerPunter". www.soccerpunter.com. Retrieved 3 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "Ishan Pandita creates history; becomes first Indian footballer to sign La Liga contract". Firstpost. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "FC Goa's Ishan Pandita: I'm ready to compete with anyone | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  10. Marcus Mergulhao (29 September 2020). "Another 'Spanish' addition for FC Goa as Ishan Pandita completes move | Goa News – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  11. "ISL: FC Goa sign forward Ishan Pandita for 2020–21 season | Football News – Times of India". The Times of India. PTI. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  12. "FC Goa secures Ishan Pandita signing". fcgoa.in. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  13. "FC Goa secures Ishan Pandita signing". Indian Super League. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  14. "New kid Ishan Pandita ready to show Goa, ISL what the fuss is all about". ESPN. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  15. "Goa vs. NorthEast United – 30 November 2020 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  16. "ISL 2020–21 HIGHLIGHTS, Hyderabad FC vs FC Goa: Late Angulo, Pandita Goals Hand Goa 2–1 win Against Hyderabad". News18. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  17. "FC Goa announce squad for AFC Champions League: Ishan Pandita, Saviour Gama in as Igor Angulo misses out". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  18. Sportstar, Team. "ISL 2021-22: Jamshedpur FC signs Ishan Pandita from FC Goa". Sportstar. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  19. "Indian Football: Bipin Singh, Ishan Pandita in 35-man probables list for Oman, UAE friendlies". Scroll. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  20. "FC Goa signs forward Ishan Pandita". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  21. "From Kashmir to Madrid: The Story of Ishan Pandita". Kashmir Life. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  22. "Delhi-born, Manila-bred, Madrid trained: Ishan Pandita tipped to be the future of Indian football". The Indian Express. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  23. "ISL: FC Goa Announce Signing of 22-year-old Forward Ishan Pandita". News18. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  24. "ISL: FC Goa sign forward Ishan Pandita for 2020–21 season | Football News – Times of India". The Times of India. PTI. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  25. Ishan Pandita at Soccerway
  26. "Jamshedpur FC clinch League Winners' Shield after beating ATK Mohun Bagan". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  27. "ISL 2021-22: Jamshedpur win the League Winners Shield | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
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