# Nikhil Poojary

Nikhil Chandra Shekhar Poojary (born 3 September 1995) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or winger for Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team.

## Club career

Born in Mangalore, Karnataka 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 giants 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 of Bangladesh. His strike in the 87th minute was the last goal in a 6–0 victory.
On September 19th, 2024, Poojary made his 100th appearance in Indian Super League, making him 48th overall and 38th Indian player to achieve this mark.

### Bengaluru FC

After leaving Hyderabad he joined another Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC.

## International career

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

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 21 March 2024
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | AFC | AFC | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| East Bengal | 2016–17 | I-League | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | 22 | 1 |
| East Bengal | 2017–18 | I-League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| East Bengal | Total | Total | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 24 | 2 |
| Pune City | 2018–19 | Indian Super League | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 1 |
| Hyderabad | 2019–20 | Indian Super League | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 0 |
| Hyderabad | 2020–21 | Indian Super League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 0 |
| Hyderabad | 2021–22 | Indian Super League | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 1 |
| Hyderabad | 2022–23 | Indian Super League | 21 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 29 | 0 |
| Hyderabad | 2023–24 | Indian Super League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 0 |
| Hyderabad | Total | Total | 79 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 1 |
| Bengaluru | 2023–24 | Indian Super League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 109 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 128 | 3 |
* ↑ Appearances in Federation Cup
* ↑ 4 Appearances in Calcutta Football League and 2 Appearances in Bordoloi Trophy
* ↑ Goal in Calcutta Football League
* ↑ Appearances in Calcutta Football League
* ↑ Appearances in Super Cup
* ↑ 5 Appearances in Durand Cup and 2 Appearances in Super Cup

### International

    As of 13 January 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| India | 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| India | 2018 | 5 | 1 |
| India | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| India | 2023 | 13 | 0 |
| India | 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 22 | 1 |

#### International goals

    Scores and results list India's goal tally first
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
| 1 | 9 September 2018 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | 4 | Maldives | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2018 SAFF Championship | |

## Honours

India
* SAFF Championship: 2023
* Tri-Nation Series: 2017
* Intercontinental Cup: 2023
Hyderabad
* Indian Super League: 2021–22