Nikhil Poojari


Nikhil Poojary is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for both Indian club Hyderabad FC and the Indian national team.

Career

Born in Mangalore,Karnataka to a tulu speaking billava family, Poojary started his career with Ryan FC in Mumbai. While with Ryan FC, Poojary was selected to play for the Maharashtra under-19 side in the school games nationals. Poojary soon joined the youth side of Mumbai before signing with Kolkata-based East Bengal in 2015.
Poojary made his first-team debut for East Bengal on 4 August 2016 in their opening Calcutta Football League fixture against Bhawanipore. He came on as a 78th minute substitute for Jiten Murmu as East Bengal won 2–1. Poojary scored his first goal for the club on 23 September 2016 during the group stage match of the Bordoloi Trophy against Bongobi Agragami on Bangladesh. His strike in the 87th minute was the last goal in a 6–0 victory.

He scored his first international goal against Maldives in 2018 SAFF Championship.

Career statistics

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.9 September 2018Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh1–02–02018 SAFF Championship