Rakesh Pradhan (born 2 August 1993), 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

I-League 2nd Division The I-League 2 is an Indian men's professional association football, football league. It is the 3rd tier of the Indian football league system, behind the Indian Super League and the I-League. It operates as a system of promotion and relegation ...

club Bengaluru United.

Career

Born in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, Pradhan is a product of the

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 ...

academy. While still a regular with the academy set-up, Pradhan made his first appearances for the Shillong Lajong first team during the

2013–14 I-League The 2013–14 I-League (known as the '' Airtel I-League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the I-League, the top-tier Indian professional league for football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 21 Sept ...

. Pradhan appeared on the bench on three occasions, against

Dempo Dempo Mining Corporation Limited is a prominent mining company from the western Indian state of Goa. The mineral business was founded by Vasantrao S. Dempo in 1941, along with his younger brother Vaikuntrao Dempo. Vasantrao was the founding c ...

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, and

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

, but didn't see any time on the pitch. More than four years later, prior to the 2017–18 season, Pradhan was added to the Shillong Lajong first team 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 then made his professional debut for the club in their opening match against

Gokulam Kerala Gokulam Kerala Football Club is an Indian professional association football, football club based in Kozhikode, Kerala. Founded in 2017, the club competes in the I-League, the second tier of the Indian football league system. They won the 2020� ...

. Pradhan started and played the whole match as Shillong Lajong won 1–0. At the end of the season, Pradhan had played and started in all 18 of Shillong Lajong's matches during the I-League season. On 4 April 2018, Pradhan scored his first professional goal against

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 ...

in the

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

. His goal in the 61st minute was the equalizer as Shillong Lajong came back from being 0–2 down to winning 3–2. On 18 January 2021, Pradhan was signed by

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 ...

on loan from

NorthEast United NorthEast United Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was founded on ...

& made his debut for the new club on 19 January against

Hyderabad FC Hyderabad Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Hyderabad, Telangana. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Founded on 27 August 2019, the club began their first professional ...

Career statistics

References

External links

Shillong Lajong Profile
1997 births Living people Indian men's footballers Shillong Lajong FC players Men's association football defenders Footballers from Assam I-League players Indian Super League players 21st-century Indian sportsmen NorthEast United FC players Odisha FC players Sudeva Delhi FC players {{India-footy-defender-stub