Asish Rai (born 27 January 1999) 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 lea ...

who plays as a defender for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...

and the India national team.

Club career

Early life and youth career

Rai was born in

Pakyong Pakyong () is a city and district headquarters of Pakyong district in the Indian state of Sikkim, located in the foothills of the Himalayas. Pakyong Airport is the only airport of Sikkim. The "National Research Centre for Orchids" ( ICAR Insti ...

, a small village in

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

. He always liked to play football, even as a kid. He got interested in the game by his uncle, who played football himself. He was selected by a local academy in his state at the age of 12. He travelled to

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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

to play in the

Subroto Cup The Subroto Cup International Football Tournament is a prestigious international inter-school football tournament that is held in New Delhi, India. The tournament held annually since 1960, is named after the Indian Air Force Air Marshal Subrot ...

, spent a couple of years there before joining the Pune Academy which was later converted into the Pune City Academy. Since,

Pune City Pune ( ; , ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona ( the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan plateau in Western India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Pune district, and of Pune ...

already had experienced players in the right-back position, they loaned him out to

Indian Arrows Indian Arrows (formerly known as Pailan Arrows) is an Indian developmental football team that competes in the Indian national football tiers. They competed in the I-League. The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, wi ...

Indian Arrows

2017–18 season

On 29 November 2017, Rai was selected to play for the

, an

All India Football Federation All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the governing body of football, futsal and beach soccer in India. It is a member of FIFA, and is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and South Asian Football Federation. It is affiliated wit ...

owned team that would consist of India under-20 players to give them playing time. He made his professional debut for the side on 26 December 2017, against

Shillong Lajong Shillong Lajong Football Club (founded as Lajong SC) is an Indian professional football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya. The club is currently competing in the I-League, the second tier of the Indian football league system, following promotio ...

. He started and played the full match as

won 3–0. In his debut season, Rai made ten appearances, one in the

2018 Indian Super Cup The 2018 Super Cup (also known as the 2018 Hero Super Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the inaugural edition of the Super Cup and the 39th season of the national knockout football competition in India. The competition was sponsored by Hero Moto ...

for the Arrows. Although they finished bottom of the table in the

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

, they impressed with their gameplay and football.

2018–19 season

On 5 November 2018, he scored his first goal for the club in only his second appearance of the season against

, which eventually was the winning goal as the Arrows won 1–0. He featured in all 20 matches of the

2018–19 I-League The 2018–19 I-League was the 12th season of the I-League, the top Indian professional football league, since its establishment in 2007. The season started on 26 October 2018 and is scheduled to conclude in March 2019. Unlike the Indian Super L ...

campaign and also a couple in the

2019 Indian Super Cup The 2019 Super Cup (also known as the 2019 Hero Super Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the second edition of the Super Cup and the 40th season of the national knockout football competition in India. The competition was sponsored by Hero MotoCorp ...

, as he became a permanent fixture in the right full-back position. The team improved from the season before and picked up 21 points to finish eighth in the points table.

Hyderabad

2019–20 season

Rai went back to the reserves team of

, and when the club was dissolved in the summer of 2019, their replacement club

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

signed him for their first team. He made his professional debut for the club on 25 October 2019, against ATK in a 5–0 loss. On 8 December 2019,

head coach Phil Brown heaped praise on Rai after he put in a splendid display in the right-back position, in their narrow 1–0 defeat against

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

. The debut season of

was a devastating one for the club and the fans, most of the Indian players didn't play in their preferred position and one of them was Rai. He played as a left-back, right-back and on the wings, too. He played 14 games for them in the 2019–20 Indian Super League season. Due to the unstableness in the squad, tactics and many other factors, he wasn't able to perform up to the mark and couldn't give his best. On 17 February 2020, Rai signed a three-year extension with the club, till May 2023.

2020–21 season

Rai and

set the stage alight in the 2020-21 Indian Super League season, under the stewardship of

Manolo Márquez Manuel "Manolo" Márquez Roca (born 7 September 1968) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Indian national football team. Playing career Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Márquez rep ...

. The second season was a huge improvement for the outfit from the inaugural 2019-20 campaign, where they had finished last in the standings. Despite staying in contention for the playoffs throughout, the Nizams missed out on qualification on the final day due to a string of draws and dropped points. Rai was in sensational form throughout the season until he picked up a season-ending knee injury against

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

, on 16 February 2021. The right-back's industry on the flank and constant threat in the attacking third made him a tough operator for the opposition to contain. He featured in 18 matches of the 2020-21 Indian Super League campaign and also racked up two assists in the process. Head coach

Márquez Márquez or Marquez is a surname of Spanish origin, meaning "son of Marcos or Marcus". Its Portuguese equivalent is Marques. It should not be confused with the surname Marqués, also of Spanish origin. People * Adrian Garcia Marquez, American ...

called Rai "the most improved player" of last season.

Mohun Bagan

Rai moved to another Indian Super League side

in 2022. He made his debut for the club on 20 August against Rajasthan United at the 131st edition of

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

and they were defeated by 3–2.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Mohun Bagan *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

* ISL Cup: 2022–23,2024-25 * ISL Champion: 2023–24 ,2024-25 Hyderabad * ISL Cup: 2021–22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Asish 1999 births Living people Indian men's footballers 21st-century Indian sportsmen India men's international footballers India men's youth international footballers Footballers from Sikkim People from Pakyong district Indian Gorkhas Pune FC players FC Pune City players Indian Arrows players Hyderabad FC players Mohun Bagan Super Giant players Men's association football defenders I-League players Indian Super League players