Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei (born 28 March 1994) 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.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

, Meitei started playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

from the age of 10 years. He initially trained at a local stadium to improve his technical ability. He eventually managed to make it into his district team and then the Manipur football team in the youth nationals. Then in 2008 he was signed by

Mohun Bagan A.C. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest multi-sports clubs in Asia. The club has various sports departments like football, cricket, hockey ...

to join their academy. After a one-year stay at the academy, Meitei joined the Sambhalpur Academy in

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

. However, due to problems with both academies in terms of how they taught

academics Academic means of or related to an academy, an institution learning. Academic or academics may also refer to: * Academic staff, or faculty, teachers or research staff * school of philosophers associated with the Platonic Academy in ancient Greece ...

, Meitei dropped out of both. He then went back to Manipur to play for a local club. Then, after going back to Manipur, James Singh of

Mumbai F.C. Mumbai Football Club was an Indian professional association football, football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The club predominantly competed in I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. Mumbai also participated in Mumbai ...

recommended Meitei to trial at

Pune F.C. Pune Football Club was an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. The club competed in I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. The club was one of the List of football clubs in Ind ...

for a spot in the Pune F.C. Academy. Meitei trialed for the spot in the academy and passed. While with the Pune F.C. Academy Meitei had won the

I-League U19 The Youth League is a system of youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the All India Football Federation. It consists of 3 age groups competitions: U17 (AIFF Youth League), U15 (Junior League) ...

twice.

Pune Football Club

On 10 October 2013, Meitei made his professional debut for

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 ...

against

at the

Balewadi Sports Complex The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, also known as Balewadi Stadium, is a sports complex located in Pune, India. The complex is situated about 15 km from downtown Pune and 5 km from Hinjawadi. This complex was a venue for the 200 ...

in which he came on in the 89th minute for Pierre Douhou as Pune won the match 2–0.

Kerala Blasters

On 5 August 2020, it was announced that Meitei would join

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 ...

from

TRAU FC TRAU Football Club (known fully as Tiddim Road Athletic Union Football Club) is an Indian professional football club based in Imphal, Manipur. The club has, until relegation in 2024, competed in the I-League, the second tier of the Indian foot ...

. He made his first appearance for the club on 29 November 2021, against

Chennaiyin FC Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014 during the inaugural sea ...

. On 6 May 2021, Metei signed a new three-year contract with Kerala Blasters, keeping him at the club until 2024. Meitei was included in the Kerala Blasters squad for the

2021 Durand Cup The 2021 Durand Cup was the 130th edition of Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in Asia. Like its 2019 Durand Cup, previous edition, the tournament was hosted in West Bengal. The tournament is jointly hosted by the Eastern Command (Indi ...

, and played his first match against arch-rivals

Bengaluru FC Bengaluru Football Club () (Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು.ಎಫ್.ಸಿ) is an Indian professional football club based in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club w ...

on 15 September, where he received a red card and the match ended in a 2–0 defeat for the Blasters. He played his first match of the 2021–22 Indian Super League season as a substitute for Nishu Kumar against Bengaluru itself in the 88th minute of the, which they lost 0–1.

Odisha FC (loan)

On 6 July 2022,

Odisha FC Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

announced the signing of Meitei on a season long loan deal from the Blasters.

International career

Meitei has represented India at the under-23 level in which he played for them in a tournament held at

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

Kerala Blasters FC

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 ...

runner up: 2021–22.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meitei, Denechandra 1994 births Living people Indian men's footballers Pune FC players TRAU FC players Men's association football fullbacks Footballers from Manipur I-League players Kerala Blasters FC players Mohun Bagan Super Giant players Churchill Brothers FC Goa players NEROCA FC players Indian Super League players 21st-century Indian sportsmen Odisha FC players Punjab FC players