Mehtab Singh (footballer)

Mehtab Singh (Punjabi: ਮਹਿਤਾਬ ਸਿੰਘ; born 5 June 1998) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Indian Super League club Mumbai City and the India national team.

Mehtab Singh
Personal information
Full name Mehtab Singh
Date of birth (1998-06-05) 5 June 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Khemkaran, Punjab, India[1]
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Mumbai City
Number 5
Youth career
Mahilpur Football Academy
2016–2017 East Bengal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 East Bengal 17 (0)
2019Gokulam Kerala (loan) 5 (0)
2020– Mumbai City 75 (4)
International career
2019–2022 India U23 2 (0)
2023– India 10 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  India
SAFF Championship
Winner 2023 India
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:11, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:06, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

Career

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Early career

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Mehtab Singh was born in Khemkaran village in Punjab. He travelled around 165 kilometres from Khemkaran to Mahilpur football academy to learn to play football.[citation needed] He later represented the East Bengal U18 side in the 2017–18 U18 I-League.[citation needed]

On 13 December 2017, he scored a goal to help his team to a victory over Mohun Bagan in a crucial under-18 I-League match.[2]

East Bengal

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He was promoted to the senior squad and played in the 2017–18 Calcutta Premier Division for the club.[3] On 28 November 2017, he made I-League debut in a 2–2 draw against Aizawl.[4]

On 14 November 2018, he suffered a head injury due to an collision with Siddharth Singh during the practice when the duo jumped for an aerial ball as their heads clashed against each other. Mehtab was the worst affected as he was seen with a bloody forehead and lay unconscious for sometime before being rushed to the hospital where he had 18 stitches.[5][6]

Gokulam Kerala

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On 31 January 2019, he was loaned to Gokulam Kerala for the rest of the season. He made a total of 5 appearances for the Kerala side.[7]

Mumbai City

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In 2020, Singh moved to Mumbai City and emerged victorious at the 2020–21 Indian Super League. Later in March 2022, he was included in club's 2022 AFC Champions League squad.[8]

International

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On 13 February 2019, Singh was called up to the India under-23 side which participated in the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers.[9] He made his debut for the side in a friendly match against Qatar U23 ahead of the competition.[10]

On 14 March 2023, Singh was called up to the Indian senior squad for the first time.[11] He made his debut in the Hero Tri-Nation International Football Tournament against Myanmar on 22 March, as one of the starters in a 1–0 victory.[12]

Personal life

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In December 2022, Mehtab married his long-time girlfriend Shauli Sarkar.

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 1 April 2024[13]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup AFC Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
East Bengal 2017–18 I-League 6 0 6 0
2019–20 11 0 2[a] 0 13 0
East Bengal total 17 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 19 0
Gokulam Kerala (loan) 2018–19 I-League 5 0 5 0
Mumbai City 2020–21 Indian Super League 12 0 12 0
2021–22 13 1 6[b] 0 19 1
2022–23 21 2 3[c] 1 5[a] 1 29 4
2023–24 17 0 1[c] 0 4[a] 1 4[b] 0 26 1
Mumbai City total 63 3 4 1 9 2 10 0 86 6
Career total 85 3 4 1 11 2 10 0 110 6
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Durand Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Super Cup

International

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As of 13 March 2024[14]
National team Year Apps Goals
India 2023 9 0
Total 9 0

Honours

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East Bengal

Mumbai City

India

References

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  1. ^ "Ignoring sounds of bullets, East Bengal footballer excels". mykhel.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  2. ^ "U'18 I League: Mehtab Singh strike gives East Bengal a 1-0 win in derby". xtratime.in. 13 December 2016. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  3. ^ Dey, Sayak Dipta (17 November 2017). "I-League 2017/18 : What does the season have in store?". sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  4. ^ "I League 2017-18: East Bengal settles for a 2-2 draw against defending champions Aizawl FC". xtratime.in. 28 November 2017. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Injured defender Mehtab Singh likely to miss East Bengal's next two matches". The Times of India. timesofindia.com. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  6. ^ "East Bengal defender out of danger after head collision". theweekendleader.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Mehtab Singh joins Gokulam Kerala on loan for the rest of the 2018-19 season". facebook.com. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  8. ^ Guha, Sayantan (6 April 2022). "All you need to know about Mumbai City FC's AFC Champions League 2022 campaign". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Liston in India U-23 preliminary camp". Navhind Times. 13 February 2019. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  10. ^ "india U-23 SUFFER NARROW LOSS TO QATAR". AIFF.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Igor Stimac names provisional squad ahead of Hero Tri-Nation International Football Tournament". The AIFF. 14 March 2023. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  12. ^ Ghosh, Soumo (22 March 2023). "Anirudh Thapa strikes in India's win over Myanmar in Hero Tri-Nation opener". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  13. ^ Mehtab Singh at Soccerway
  14. ^ Mehtab Singh at National-Football-Teams.com
  15. ^ "Calcutta Football League: East Bengal wins eighth consecutive title". sportslive.com. 24 September 2017. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2018.