Anujan Rajendram (Sinhala: අනුජන් රාජේන්ද්රම්, Tamil: அனுஜன் ராஜேந்திரம்; born 11 May 2000) is a footballer who plays as a midfielder for Strindheim. Born in Norway, he plays for Sri Lanka at international level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 May 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Hammerfest, Norway[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Strindheim | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Grei | |||
| Grorud | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2021 | Grorud 2 | 46 | (2) |
| 2021–2023 | Oppsal | 32 | (5) |
| 2021–2022 | Oppsal 2 | 13 | (1) |
| 2023 | Nordstrand | 8 | (1) |
| 2023 | Nordstrand 2 | 8 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Oppsal | 27 | (3) |
| 2024– | Strindheim | 2 | (0) |
| 2024– | Strindheim 2 | 2 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024– | Sri Lanka | 5 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November, 2024 | |||
Club career
editBorn in Norway to a Sri Lankan Tamil father and an Indian mother and raised in Ammerud, Rajendram began his footballing career with nearby Grei.[2] He went on to join semi-professional side Grorud, and made his senior debut for their reserve team in the 3. divisjon in 2016.[3] He spent six seasons with Grorud's reserve team, with the last two being severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway, before joining Oppsal in 2021.[3]
After two full seasons with Oppsal in the 3. divisjon, Rajendram moved to league rivals Nordstrand in 2023.[3] However, the move did not last long, and by the end of the season he had returned to Oppsal.[4] After two seasons with Oppsal, Rajendram moved to PostNord-ligaen side Strindheim in September 2024, shortly after making his international debut.[5]
International career
editRajendram was first called up to the Sri Lanka national football team in early 2024 ahead of the 2024 FIFA Series in March of the same year.[6][7][8] He would have to wait until September 2024 to make his debut, which came in a 0–0 draw with Cambodia in the play-off round of AFC Asian Cup qualification.[9]
Personal life
editAs well as football, Rajendram also played handball as a child, and balanced his footballing career with one in futsal, where he represented Grorud and Stovner.[10][11]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Grorud 2 | 2016 | 3. divisjon | 9 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 4. divisjon | 14 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | ||
| 2018 | 7 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |||
| 2019 | 16 | 0 | – | 2[a] | 1 | 18 | 1 | |||
| 2020 | 3. divisjon | –[b] | ||||||||
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 46 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 48 | 3 | ||
| Oppsal | 2021 | 3. divisjon | 11 | 3 | 1[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| 2022 | 21 | 2 | 3[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | ||
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 32 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 5 | ||
| Oppsal 2 | 2021 | 4. divisjon | 6 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
| Nordstrand | 2023 | 3. divisjon | 8 | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Nordstrand 2 | 2023 | 5. divisjon | 8 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Oppsal | 2023 | 3. divisjon | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| 2024 | 16 | 1 | 2[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | ||
| Total | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 | ||
| Strindheim | 2024 | PostNord-ligaen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Strindheim 2 | 2024 | 4. divisjon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | 138 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 152 | 13 | ||
- Notes
- ^ Appearances in the 4. divisjon promotion playoffs
- ^ The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway
- ^ a b c d e Appearances in the Norwegian Cup
References
edit- ^ Anujan Rajendram at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ Bredesen, Carina Alice (17 October 2008). "Morgendagens midtstopper" [Tomorrow's centre-back]. nettavisen.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Sri Lanka rekrutterer i norsk fotball: - Det er noe med å dra tilbake til moderlandet der mine foreldre vokste opp" [Sri Lanka recruits in Norwegian football: - There is something about going back to the motherland where my parents grew up]. norskfotball.com (in Norwegian). 4 March 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Ble matchvinner mot gamleklubben: – Smakte ekstra godt" [Became a match winner against the old club: - Tasted extra good]. dagsavisen.no (in Norwegian). 9 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2024. (subscription required)
- ^ "Landslagsspiller har signert" [National team player has signed]. strindheimtoppfotball.no (in Norwegian). 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Anujan (23) kan bli Oppsals første A-landslagsspiller" [Anujan (23) can become Oppsal's first A national team player]. noblad.no (in Norwegian). 19 February 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024. (subscription required)
- ^ Razick, Muaard (23 February 2024). "FIFA Series in March: SL-origin players called up to strengthen National Pool". themorning.lk. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Oppsal-spiller ble historisk: Ble hentet til Sri Lanka" [Oppsal player became historic: Was brought to Sri Lanka]. dagsavisen.no (in Norwegian). 11 April 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024. (subscription required)
- ^ "ශ්රී ලංකා – කාම්බෝජය අතර සටන 10 දා" [The battle between Sri Lanka and Cambodia on the 10th]. divaina.lk (in Sinhala). 7 September 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ Bredesen, Carina Alice (13 November 2008). "«Nybegynnerhåndball»" ["Beginner handball"]. nettavisen.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ a b Anujan Rajendram at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
- ^ Anujan Rajendram at Soccerway