Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei (born 28 March 1994) is an Indian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who last played as a defender for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

club

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

, Meitei started playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

from the age of 10 years. He initially trained at a local stadium to improve his technical ability. He eventually managed to make it into his district team and then the

Manipur football team The Manipur football team is an Indian football team representing Manipur in Indian state football competitions including the Santosh Trophy. They have appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals twice, and have won the trophy once, in 2002-03. ...

in the youth nationals. Then in 2008 he was signed by Mohun Bagan A.C. to join their academy. After a one-year stay at the academy, Meitei joined the Sambhalpur Academy in

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

. However, due to problems with both academies in terms of how they taught

academics An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

, Meitei dropped out of both. He then went back to Manipur to play for a local club. Then, after going back to Manipur, James Singh of

Mumbai F.C. Mumbai Football Club was an India, Indian professional association football, football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system, alongside the Mumbai Football League, MDF ...

recommended Meitei to trial at

Pune F.C. Pune Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. The club has competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. The club was one of the most professional clubs in Indian footb ...

for a spot in the

Pune F.C. Academy The Pune Football Club Academy was the youth team of Pune F.C., Pune Football Club. They played in the I-League U19, the highest level of youth football in India. The team closed operations in 2016 and were purchased by Indian Super League side ...

. Meitei trialed for the spot in the academy and passed. While with the Pune F.C. Academy Meitei had won the

I-League U19 The Youth League, also known as Hero Youth League for sponsorship reasons, is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the All India Football Federation. It consists of 3 age groups competitions: U17 (E ...

twice.

Pune Football Club

On 10 October 2013, Meitei made his professional debut for

in the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

against Mohun Bagan A.C. at the

Balewadi Sports Complex The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex is a sports complex located in Pune, India. The complex is situated about 15 km from Pune downtown and 5 km from Hinjawadi. This complex was the venue for the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, Kh ...

in which he came on in the 89th minute for Pierre Douhou as Pune won the match 2–0.

Kerala Blasters

On 5 August 2020, it was announced that Meitei would join

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...

from

TRAU FC Tiddim Road Athletic Union Football Club, or simply TRAU FC, is an Indian professional football club based in Imphal, Manipur, that competes in the I-League. The club made its I-League 2nd Division debut in the 2017–18 season. They promoted ...

. He made his first appearance for the club on 29 November 2021, against

Chennaiyin FC Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014 during the inaugural season o ...

. On 6 May 2021, Metei signed a new three-year contract with Kerala Blasters, keeping him at the club until 2024. Meitei was included in the Kerala Blasters squad for the

2021 Durand Cup The 2021 Durand Cup is the 130th edition of Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in Asia. Like its previous edition, the tournament was hosted in West Bengal, instead of its traditional venue, Delhi. The tournament is jointly hosted by t ...

, and played his first match against arch-rivals

Bengaluru FC Bengaluru Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bangalore, Karnataka. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 20 July 2013, and began its first ...

on 15 September, where he received a red card and the match ended in a 2–0 defeat for the Blasters. He played his first match of the 2021–22 Indian Super League season as a substitute for

Nishu Kumar Nishu Kumar Tashni (born 5 November 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters. Club career Youth career: 2009–2015 Nishu Kumar began his career with Chandigarh Football A ...

against Bengaluru itself in the 88th minute of the, which they lost 0–1.

Odisha FC (loan)

On 6 July 2022,

Odisha FC Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

announced the signing of Meitei on a season long loan deal from the Blasters.

International career

Meitei has represented India at the under-23 level in which he played for them in a tournament held at

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

Kerala Blasters FC

runner up: 2021–22.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meitei, Denechandra 1994 births Living people Indian men's footballers Pune FC players TRAU FC players Men's association football fullbacks Footballers from Manipur I-League players Kerala Blasters FC players Mohun Bagan AC players Churchill Brothers FC Goa players NEROCA FC players Indian Super League players Odisha FC players