Shankar Sampingiraj (

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

: ಶಂಕರ್ ಸಂಪಂಗಿರಾಜ್; born 14 December 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 or

defensive midfielder 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. ...

for

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 ...

club SC Bengaluru.

Career

HAL

Born in

Kolar, Karnataka Kolar or Kolāra (, historically "Kuvaḻālapura") is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar district. The city is known for its milk production and gold mines. It is also known for the Someshwara and Kola ...

, Sampingiraj started his professional career with

HAL HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bengaluru, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

, then of

during the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season. However, during a match against

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 ...

the very same season, Sampingiraj suffered a ligament tear which was not properly diagnosed by his club, but was noticed and dealt with at the camp for the Indian national youth team, eventually leading to surgery on his right knee and missing substantial game time.

Pailan Arrows and DSK Shivajians

Sampingiraj signed for the Pailan Arrows then of

for the 2011-12 I-League season. Shankar was loaned out to DSK Shivajians of the

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 ...

for the

2013 I-League 2nd Division The 2013 I-League 2nd Division was the sixth season of the league under its current title. The season began on 9 March 2013. The original 21 clubs who would participate in the 2nd Division were officially announced on 25 January 2013, however s ...

, playing all six of DSK's group stage games, scoring once against Kohima Komets, but couldn't help his team reach the final round.

Bengaluru

In July 2013, it was announced that Sampingiraj had signed with new direct-entry

side

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 ...

. However, the

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 ...

stopped Sampingiraj from joining the team as they said that he was still contracted with them to play for Pailan Arrows. Then, on 13 December 2013, it was announced than Sampingiraj had eventually signed with Bengaluru FC but on loan from IMG-Reliance for the rest of the season. Sampingiraj scored his first goal for Bengaluru FC in an

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

game on 24 February 2015, against Maziya of the Maldives in a 2–1 away, in added-time. Shankar scored his first goal in the I-League for Bengaluru on 3 April 2015, heading in a free-kick into the box from

Eugeneson Lyngdoh Eugeneson Lyngdoh (born 10 September 1986) is an Indian former footballer who last played as a midfielder for Indian Super League side East Bengal. He had also represented the India National Team. Early life Lyngdoh studied at Bishop Cotton ...

in a 3–3 draw with Royal Wahingdoh. He signed a 3-year contract with Bengaluru at the end of the season; this deal will take keep him with the club until the end of the 2017-18 I-League season.

Kerala Blasters (loan)

In July 2015, Sampingiraj was drafted to play for

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

in the

2015 Indian Super League The 2015 Hero Indian Super League was the second season of the Indian Super League, a professional football league played in India since 2014. The season featured eight teams. The regular season kicked off on 3 October and ended on 6 December, ...

. On 13 August 2013, Bengaluru, his parent club, confirmed a 3-week training stint for Shankar with Italian 3rd division side Unione Sportiva Cremonese, prior to the 2015 ISL.

Chennai City

In 2020, he moved to Chennai City on a one-year deal.

International

Sampingiraj made his Indian U23 debut against Uzbekistan U23 on 27 March 2015 in a 2016 AFC U-23 qualifier in the

Bangabandhu National Stadium National Stadium, Dhaka () is a multipurpose sports arena and the national stadium of Bangladesh. Located in the Motijheel area of Dhaka, it is predominantly used for Association football, football matches and serves as the home venue for the B ...

in Bangladesh. Shankar started and was sent-off against Syria U23 in the second match of the qualifiers in a 4-0 loss.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampingiraj, Shankar 1994 births Living people People from Kolar district Indian men's footballers India men's youth international footballers Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC players Indian Arrows players DSK Shivajians FC players Bengaluru FC players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Karnataka I-League players I-League 2 players Kerala Blasters FC draft picks Kerala Blasters FC players Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games footballers for India ATK (football club) players FC Pune City players Indian Super League players 21st-century Indian sportsmen Hyderabad FC players Chennai City FC players