Bijendra Rai (born 8 June 1992) is an Indian

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 currently plays for IMG RELIANCE.

Early career

He was born in

Jorethang Jorethang is a major town in Namchi district in the Indian state of Sikkim. Jorethang lies on the bank of Rangeet River, which is a tributary of the Teesta River, on the way to Pelling from Darjeeling, Siliguri and Kalimpong. Jorethang is ...

South Sikkim district Namchi District is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its headquarters is at Namchi. Geography Namchi district lies at an altitude of 400 to 2000 metres and has a temperate climate for most of the year. Major urban centres include Na ...

. His father and elder brother were footballers. His father used to play football locally but his brother played for a club in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

. He joined

Gangtok Gangtok (, ) is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Sikkim. The seat of East Sikkim district, eponymous district, Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's population of 100 ...

State Sports Academy in 2006 and stayed there till 2009. The tag line of the Academy was "Search for more Baichung." he took the name of few coaches who had helped me a lot while in the Academy. They are Hongunorden Lepcha, Suresh Mukhia, and Suren Chhetri. While in the Academy, he got the chance to play for the

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 ...

U-16 team.

Career

In 2010, he went to

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

and joined Nang-Kiew-Rat where he played as a striker in the local league. In the next season, he joined

Royal Wahingdoh F.C. Royal Wahingdoh Football Club (also known as Wahingdoh Sports Club) was an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya. Nicknamed "Royals", the club participated in I-League, then top flight of Indian fo ...

where he played for 4 months. He played in the

2011 I-League 2nd Division The 2011 I-League 2nd Division was the fourth season of the second division of the I-League, the Indian professional football league. A total of 21 teams were divided into three groups and the two top teams from each group played in the final r ...

. They reached the 2nd phase but could not qualify for 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 ...

. He scored 5 goals in that tournament. His best match was against Ar-Hima FC. In that match, though he scored 2 goals, they lost the 3–2. They trounced

Southern Samity Southern Samity is an Indian professional multi-sports club from Kolkata. Founded in 1945, the club is also based in Siliguri, North Bengal. Apart from sports, they are also involved in numerous cultural activities. Its football section compete ...

6–1, where he scored 1 goal.

Pailan Arrows

The 2011–12 season got off to a good start for Rai as he made his debut for

Pailan 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 ...

in the

2011 Indian Federation Cup The 2011 Indian Federation Cup was the 33rd season of the knock-out competition. On 13 August 2011 the AIFF announced that 21 clubs had been accepted to the tournament. The tournament Qualifiers commence from 8 September to 13 September and Fi ...

against

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. He then made his

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 ...

debut against

HAL SC Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Sporting Club (often abbreviated as HAL or HASC) is an Indian institutional multi-sports club based in Bangalore, best known for its football team. It was named after the company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL ...

on 2 November 2011.

Eagles

On 5 December 2013 it was announced that Bijendra has signed up with

Eagles F.C. Eagles Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that last competed in the Kerala Premier League. It is one of the oldest football clubs in the state of Kerala. Currently the club runs only its youth academ ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

on loan for 2013–14 season along with

Nadong Bhutia Nadong Bhutia (born 25 November 1993) is an Indian former footballer who played as a striker or winger. Career United Sikkim Bhutia made his debut for United Sikkim F.C. on 19 January 2013 during an I-League match against Dempo S.C. at the ...

, Avinabo Bag, Jagroop Singh, Bisheshwor Singh, Biswajit Saha, Ramandeep Singh and Govin Singh. Moreover, IMG-Reliance, the organisers of the proposed IPL-style football tournament Indian Super League, and

will facilitate a two to six week training stint for the eight players with UK based

Reading F.C. Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. They compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. They play their home matches at the Select Car Leasing Sta ...

Academy.

International

In 2007, Coach Collin Toal gave him a chance for the 1st time in the U-16 Indian team, when we went to play in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

for the AFC qualifying Round. Later on, they went for exposure trips to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In the

Academy, he used to play as a striker, but in the Indian team, he played for the first time as a

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He scored his first goal for U-16 Indian team against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. He scored the goal within 20 seconds. He placed the ball inside goal from Lalrindika's cross. Later, he also got a chance in the U-19 Indian team for an exposure trip to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and for a tournament in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, but he missed the tour due to injury at the last moment.

Career statistics

Club

''Statistics accurate as of 29 December 2011''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Bijendra Indian men's footballers 1992 births Living people People from Namchi district Footballers from Sikkim I-League players 21st-century Indian sportsmen Indian Arrows players Mohun Bagan Super Giant players Indian Gorkhas India men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders