Pankaj Sona (born 3 November 1993) is an Indian former footballer who played as a forward for Churchill Brothers in the I-League.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pankaj Sona | ||
| Date of birth | 3 November 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Jharsuguda, Odisha, India | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Churchill Brothers | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2010 | Government Sports Hostel | ||
| 2010–2012 | Tata Football Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Pailan Arrows | 0 | (0) |
| 2014–2018 | Churchill Brothers | 4 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011 | India U20 | ||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 April 2017 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 April 2017 | |||
Career
editBorn in Jharsuguda, Odisha, Sona was encouraged by his uncle, a district level footballer himself, to attend trials with the Government Sports Hostel.[2] Even while at the academy, Sona was considered a very raw talent and also needed to learn the basics about injuries and how to recover.[2] In 2010, after participating in the Biju Patnaik Gold Cup in Bhubaneswar, Sona was awarded as the best player of the tournament. Despite this achievement, officials from the Tata Football Academy, who were scouting during the tournament, originally didn't select Sona for trials with the academy.[2] Sona's coach, Gangadhar Behera, managed to intervene with the Tata officials and Sona was added to the list of trialists. After the trial of 20 players from the tournament, Sona was the only one selected to join the academy.[2]
Sona graduated from the Tata Football Academy in 2012 and soon signed a professional contract with the All India Football Federation developmental I-League side, Pailan Arrows.[2] However, a year later, the club disbanded and Sona decided to pursue academics before being informed of trials with Churchill Brothers in Goa. Sona reportedly skipped his classes to catch a plane to Goa and attend the trials, where he impressed Churchill Brothers officials and coaches.[2] He began playing first-team matches for the club in the Goa Professional League.[3]
On 7 March 2017, three years after signing with the club, Sona made his professional debut for the club in the I-League against East Bengal. He came on as an 86th-minute substitute for Brandon Fernandes as Churchill Brothers won 2–1.[4]
International
editSona has represented India at the under-20 and under-23 levels. For the under-20 side, Sona traveled with the side to China in 2011 for the Weifang Cup.[2] Sona represented the under-23 side in practice matches but never competitively.[5]
Career statistics
edit- As of 14 April 2017[6]
| Club | Season | League | League Cup | Domestic Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Churchill Brothers | 2016–17 | I-League | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
References
edit- ^ "Pankaj Sona". Orisports. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Pankaj Sona: The Striker Who Ran Out of Class To Attend Trials". FeverPitch. 13 October 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Churchill Bros, Calangute play a drab draw". Herald Goa. 18 December 2016. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "East Bengal 1-2 Churchill Brothers". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ Nayan Das, Rudra (26 May 2012). "India u-22 wins two practice matches against Bangalore super division teams". IndianFootballNetwork. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Pankaj Sona at Soccerway