Ravi Kumar Punia (born 7 February 1993) also known as Ravi Punia, 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 ...

and India professional coach. He plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

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 ...

and

Santosh Trophy The National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy, or simply Santosh Trophy, is an inter-state national football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF), th ...

. He last played for Rajasthan United in the

and

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

in the

Early and personal life

Born in

Charkhi Dadri Charkhi Dadri is a city and the headquarters of Charkhi Dadri district in the Indian state of Haryana, about 90 km from the national capital Delhi. The town was made by joining the villages of Charkhi and Dadri after urban development. Ch ...

, Punia went to Army Public School in Hisar, where he began playing football by representing the school team. After his performances with Army Public School, he was selected to play for the district team of

Hisar Hissar () means fort or castle in Arabic, with variants adopted into Persian (hesar, hessar) and Turkish (hisar). Hissar, Hisar and Hesar may refer to: Places Asia (South and Central) India *Hisar (city), a city in Haryana **Hisar Airport in Hi ...

, and later represented the Haryana state team. While gaining experience playing in numerous states across India such as Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa, West Bengal, and Maharashtra. Punia is married to Sweta and the couple has a daughter named Myra. He is currently employed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Playing statistics

''As of May 2025.''

Managerial statistics

''As of May 2025.''

Club career

Bharat FC Bharat Football Club (also known as Kalyani Bharat Football Club) was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. Founded in 2014, the club usually competed in I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system. The t ...

Punia began his senior football career with

Bharat FC Bharat Football Club (also known as Kalyani Bharat Football Club) was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. Founded in 2014, the club usually competed in I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system. The t ...

, a

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 ...

-based club that competed in the

. After progressing through the

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 ...

youth setup, he made his professional debut with Bharat FC in the I-League.

Xavier’s United FC

In 2017, Punia joined Xavier’s United, a Gujarat-based club. He spent two seasons with the team, competing in the

Gujarat SFA Club Championship The Gujatat State Football Association Club Championship is the highest state-level football league in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is organised by Gujarat State Football Association (GSFA). The league is also the 5th tier of the Indian fo ...

and establishing himself as a consistent performer at the state level.

Vijay FC

After recovering from a knee injury, Punia signed with Vijay FC, a local club in

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

. He played in the Jaipur League and was appointed captain during his stint.

Mewar FC

In the 2020–21 season, Punia made a single appearance for Mewar FC in the

R-League A Division The Rajasthan State Men's League, also known as R-League A Division, is the top state-level football league in the Indian state of Rajasthan, conducted by Rajasthan Football Association. Inaugural season with 8 participating teams, and conclude ...

, representing the Rajasthan-based side.

Rajasthan United FC Rajasthan United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Founded in 2018 as ''JECRC CF'', the academy team participated in inaugural edition of R-League A Division in 2019, and clinched the title. In 2 ...

Punia was one of the founding players of

Rajasthan United FC Rajasthan United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Founded in 2018 as ''JECRC CF'', the academy team participated in inaugural edition of R-League A Division in 2019, and clinched the title. In 2 ...

, a club based in

. He represented the team in the

, where they finished as runners-up in the 2021 edition held at Poornima University under a bio-secure format. The club later won the I-League Qualifiers in 2021 and secured promotion to the

for the 2021–22 season.

Jaipur United FC

In the 2022–23 season, Punia joined the newly formed Jaipur United FC. He was part of the club’s inaugural squad and helped the team achieve a runner-up finish in the R-League A Division.

ASL FC

In 2023, Punia signed with ASL FC, a Jaipur-based club. While continuing his coaching duties, he remained an active player during the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons, regularly featuring in the

Honours

Player

University of Rajasthan The University of Rajasthan, informally known as Rajasthan University (RU, ISO: Rājasthān Viśvavidyālaya), is a public state university located in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was founded in 1947 by an Act of the State Legislative Assembl ...

* AIU All India Inter University Football Championship: 2016 Rajasthan United * I-League Qualifiers: 2021

Manager

Senior Women's National Football Championship The Senior Women's National Football Championship for Rajmata Jijabai Trophy, also known as Senior Women’s National Football Championship or simply the Rajmata Jijabai Trophy since 2024, is a women's football tournament contested by state a ...

runner-up: 2023–24 *

Third place ( Broze medal ): 2024–25

Dadra and Nagar Haveli Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a district of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in western India. It is composed of two separate geographical entities: Nagar Haveli, wedged in between Maharashtra and Gujarat states; and ...

Junior Girl's National Football Championship The Junior Girl's National Football Championship, also known as Dr. Talimeren Ao National Football Championship for Junior Girls since 2025, is an Indian football girls tournament held for under 19 players. The competition is held every year be ...

: 2022

Early and personal life

Playing statistics

Managerial statistics

Club career

Bharat FC Bharat Football Club (also known as Kalyani Bharat Football Club) was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. Founded in 2014, the club usually competed in I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system. The t ...

Xavier’s United FC

Vijay FC

Mewar FC

Rajasthan United FC Rajasthan United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Founded in 2018 as ''JECRC CF'', the academy team participated in inaugural edition of R-League A Division in 2019, and clinched the title. In 2 ...

Jaipur United FC

ASL FC

Honours

Player

Manager

References

External links