Baljit Sahni
Indian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baljit Sahni (born 12 January 1987) is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a forward.[1]
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Baljit Singh Sahni | ||
| Date of birth | 12 January 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| JCT | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2010 | JCT | 40 | (14) |
| 2010–2015 | East Bengal | 31 | (10) |
| 2014 | → Atlético de Kolkata (loan) | 16 | (2) |
| 2015 | → Atlético de Kolkata (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2016 | DSK Shivajians | 12 | (1) |
| 2016 | Chennaiyin | 8 | (0) |
| 2017 | Mumbai | 4 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | FC Pune City | 11 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010 | India | 3 | (0) |
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 29 December 2016 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 29 December 2016 | |||
Career
JCT
Sahni had played for JCT for 5 years. In the 2009–10 season he scored the first hat trick of the season against Shillong Lajong.[2] On 11 November 2009 however Sahni was seriously injured in a bike accident along with teammate Sunil Kumar Thakur in Margao, Goa while the team were preparing for an upcoming match against Salgaocar in the I-League.[3] As a result of the accident Sahni required 25 stitches and he fractured his shin.[3] At this point in the season Sahni was in top form with six goals in the opening seven matches.[3] However, on 28 January 2010 Sahni played in his first game since the accident, coming on as a second-half substitute and he even scored a goal as JCT Mills defeated Sporting Goa 2–0.[4]
East Bengal
In 2010 Sahni signed with I-League giants East Bengal.[5]
Retirement and financial struggle
Sahni faced monetary issues while playing, so he decided to retire early at the age of 31. Sahni said, "In 2019 I left for Canada. I was not getting paid enough. I had to earn my bread and butter and I also have a family to take care of. I retired from football because after football there is a life too and that is hard but you have to accept that life and take it on the chin."[6]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Federation Cup | Durand Cup | AFC | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| JCT | 2007–08 | I-League | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 3 |
| 2008–09 | I-League | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 18 | 5 | |
| 2009–10 | I-League | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 14 | 9 | |
| East Bengal | 2010–11 | I-League | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 9 |
| 2011–12 | I-League | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2012–13 | I-League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | I-League | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 2 | |
| Atletico de Kolkata (loan) | 2014 | ISL | 16 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | 2 |
| East Bengal | 2014–15 | I-League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Career total | 87 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 3 | 115 | 20 | ||
Honours
Atlético de Kolkata