Nikhil Poojari

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.

Club career Born in Mangalore, Karnataka Poojary started his career with Ryan FC in Mumbai. While with Ryan FC, Poojary was selected to play for the Maharashtra under-19 side in the school games nationals. 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. 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.

On September 19, 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

International

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 1–0 2–0 2018 SAFF Championship

Honours

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

Hyderabad Indian Super League: 2021–22