Khangebam Thoi Singh (born 5 October 1990) 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 plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Real Kashmir 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 ...

Youth career

Thoi started his career when representing his state

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 ...

in the

Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy The Sub Junior National Football Championship, also known as Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, is an Indian football tournament for players under 16 years of age. The competition is held every year between the under-16 teams representing states of India ...

, a National level under-16 sub-junior trophy. Thoi signed his first professional contract with Chennai-based

Indian Bank Indian Bank is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1907 and headquartered in Chennai. It serves over 100 million customers with 39,734 employees, 5,721 branches with 5,428 ATMs and Cash deposit machines. Total business of the bank has ...

in 2006 to represent them in the

I-League 2nd Division I-League 2, previously known as I-League 2nd Division and officially known as or Hero I-League 2 (for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp), is an Indian men's professional football league. It is the 3rd tier of Indian football, behind Indian ...

Senior career

His performances with the southern side attracted the interest of Maharashtra-based (now defunct)

Mahindra United Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known as Mahindra & Mahindra) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, befo ...

, where he signed a 3-year contract in 2007. The highlight of his time at Mahindra includes a tournament winning goal in the final of the 2008

Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...

against

Churchill Brothers Churchill Brothers FC Goa, or simply known as Churchill Brothers, is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the I-League, alongside Goa Professional League. Founded in 1988 in Margao, the club usually part ...

. Thoi joined Goan-based Salgaocar in 2010 for the 2010-11 season where he won the league with Salgaocar, though only appearing 8 times and scoring once, and was predominantly used as a squad player. He accepted

Bhaichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often ...

's inviatiton to play for

team

United Sikkim United Sikkim Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. Founded in 2011, the club usually competed in the Sikkim Premier Division League. United Sikkim is the only club from Sikkim to have played in the I- ...

, where he stayed for two seasons, appearing regularly in the 2011 season and 2012 season alongside Bhutia,

Renedy Singh Potsangbam Renedy Singh, simply known as Renedy Singh (born 20 June 1979), is a former Indian football player and football pundit, who was the interim manager of Indian Super League club East Bengal for 2021–22 season. He is also the former ...

and

Sandesh Jhingan Sandesh Jhingan (born 21 July 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the Indian national team. He won the AIFF emerging player of the year award in 2014 and made ...

. While United Sikkim gained promotion, Thoi's services was enlisted by newly formed Mumbai Tigers, then known as Dodsal FC for the

2013 I-League 2nd Division The 2013 I-League 2nd Division is the sixth season of the league under its current title. The season will begin on 9 March 2013. The original 21 clubs who would participate in the 2nd Division were officially announced on 25 January 2013, howev ...

. Thoi became the first player to score for the Mumbai-based team when he scored against Army Red in their first professional game on 25 August 2012 at the

Ambedkar Stadium Dr. Ambedkar Stadium is a football stadium in New Delhi, India. The stadium is named in honour of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, famous social reformer and architect of the Indian Constitution. It was earlier known as the Corporation Stadium. It also hel ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

in the

2012 Durand Cup The 2012 Durand Cup was the 125th season of the Durand Cup, the third oldest football tournament in the world, which is a knock-out competition held in India. Churchill Brothers were the current holders, having beaten Prayag United in the 201 ...

. Thoi scored twice in the tournament as Mumbai Tigers reached the final, but were beaten 3-2 on penalties by

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...

. Thoi would then be picked up by another newly formed Bangalore based team

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 ...

for the 2013-14 I-League. He made 21 appearances in the I-League for Bengaluru FC in the central midfield and scored thrice and helped his side win the league in their first professional season in Indian football. He would continue with Bengaluru for another season by winning the 2014-15 Federation Cup before making 16 appearances and scoring 5 times in the 2014-15 I-League as his team finished runner-up behind

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

. Thoi along with Robin Singh and

Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team. Widely regarded as the greatest Indian footballer of all time, h ...

were contracted to the

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 ...

and will be loaned back to Bengaluru FC for the 2016 I-League season. He was picked up by Chennai-based

Chennaiyin Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was founded in Au ...

for the 2015 Indian Super League for INR 8.6 million during the 2015 ISL Auctions, making him the 3rd most expensive Indian player in the ISL only below his teammates at

and

Eugeneson Lyngdoh Eugeneson Lyngdoh (born 10 September 1986) is a member of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly representing the Mawphlang constituency. He is also a former Indian footballer who lastly played as a midfielder for Indian Super League side East Be ...

. He recently signed for

Mumbai FC Mumbai Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system, alongside the MDFA Elite League. It was founded in 2007, with the o ...

for the 2017 I-League Season.

International career

Thoi Singh was called up to the India U19 team for the 2006 AFC Youth Championship held in India between 29 October – 12 November 2006. He made his only appearance as a substitute against Jordan U19s playing as a forward.

Honours

Club

;Mahindra United *

: 2008 ;Salgaocar *

: 2010-11 ;United Sikkim *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

;Bengaluru FC * I-League: 2013-14 *

Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

: 2014-15 ;Chennaiyin FC *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

: 2017–18 ;Real Kashmir *

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield tourn ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Thoi 1990 births Living people People from Thoubal district Indian footballers India youth international footballers Mahindra United FC players Salgaocar FC players United Sikkim FC players Mumbai Tigers FC players Bengaluru FC players Association football midfielders Footballers from Manipur I-League players I-League 2nd Division players Chennaiyin FC players Mumbai FC players Indian Super League players Real Kashmir FC players