Panthoi Chanu Elangbam
Indian footballer
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Panthoi Chanu Elangbam (Meitei: Elangbam Panthoi Chanu, born 1 February 1996) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Indian Women's League club East Bengal and India women's football team. In March 2024, she played the South Australia Women's National Premier Leagues for Metro United WFC to become the first woman from India to play the Australian Football League.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Panthoi Chanu Elangbam | ||
| Date of birth | 1 February 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Keirak, Thoubal, Manipur, India | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | East Bengal | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2012 | Kakching WFA | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2019 | Eastern Sporting Union | ||
| 2019–2022 | Manipur Police | ||
| 2022–2024 | Eastern Sporting Union | ||
| 2024 | Metro United | 14 | (0) |
| 2024– | East Bengal | 20 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2011 | India U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2012–2015 | India U19 | 8 | (0) |
| 2014– | India | 29 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 March 2026 | |||
Early life
Chanu is from Keirak village, Kakching district, Manipur.[3] She is the daughter of Elangbam Chinglenkhomba and Elangbam Ongbi Shanti Leima of Keirak Makha Leikai.[4]
She started playing football at the local club, Women Football Academy Kakching. In 2012, she moved to Eastern Sporting Union. She played for Union and Manipur Police in the Indian Women's League and the regional Manipur Women's League.[5][6] During her early days, she used to travel for 50 km everyday to the Imphal Academy to learn the game.[3]
Career
Chanu first represented the Indian team in 2008 when she played for India under 13 team. Later, she played all age groups, representing India in the under 14, under 16 and under 19 teams.
In December 2022, she along with Bala Devi, moved to Spain where they underwent training cum trial stint at the Spanish Segunda Federación outfit Málaga.[7]
In 2024, she signed a contract with the second tier National Premier Leagues Women's club Metro United WFC in the South Australian league, becoming the first Indian footballer to play professional football in Australia.[8][9][10] She was spotted by head coach Paul Morris at the Women in Sports Elite Football Trials in October 2023 and later trained at the A-League club, Adelaide United FC.[3]
In 2025, she was part of the Indian team that participated in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifier 2026 at Chiang Mai, Thailand. After her return, she was felicitated at a function in her village Keirak.[4]
Domestic
In the Hero Women’s National Football Championship, she played for Manipur Police and Manipur.[11]
Career statistics
International
- As of 10 March 2026
| National team | Year | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 0 | |
Honours
India
- SAFF Women's Championship: 2014,[12] 2016
- South Asian Games Gold medal: 2016,[13] 2019
East Bengal
Eastern Sporting Union
Manipur
Individual
Awards
- She bagged the Women's goalkeeper of the year award by AIFF for 2024 season. She played for East Bengal.[15]