Baljit Sahni

Baljit Sahni
Personal information
Full name Baljit Singh Sahni
Date of birth (1987-01-12) 12 January 1987 (age 39)
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)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 29 December 2016
‡ National team caps and goals as of 29 December 2016

Baljit Sahni (born 12 January 1987) is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

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. 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. As a result of the accident Sahni required 25 stitches and he fractured his shin. At this point in the season Sahni was in top form with six goals in the opening seven matches. 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.

East Bengal

In 2010 Sahni signed with I-League giants East Bengal.

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."

Career statistics

As of 14 April 2015
Club Season League Federation Cup Durand Cup AFC Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
JCT 2007–08 I-League1530000——153
2008–09 I-League1232141——185
2009–10 I-League1380011——149
East Bengal 2010–11 I-League66000063129
2011–12 I-League52000050102
2012–13 I-League60000070130
2013–14 I-League920000——92
Atletico de Kolkata (loan) 2014 ISL162——————162
East Bengal 2014–15 I-League5000003080
Career total 8724215221311520

Honours

Atlético de Kolkata

References

  1. ↑ Ghoshal, Amoy (17 September 2011). "Federation Cup: East Bengal 1-1 Mohammedan Sporting - Red & Gold Brigade Held After Unconvincing Display". www.goal.com. Goal. Archived from the original on 29 October 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Sahni cracks hat-trick as JCT whip Lajong". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. 1 2 3 "JCT's Baljit Sahni & Sunil Kumar Meet With Serious Accident". Goal.com. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "I-League: JCT Beats Sporting As Baljit Sahni Scores On His Return". Goal.com. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "B. SAHNI". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "Bread & Butter". 20 July 2020.
  7. ↑ "India - B. Sahni - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  8. ↑ "Baljit Singh Sahni - Profile and Statistics - SoccerPunter.com". www.soccerpunter.com.
  9. ↑ "JCT Football :: News". www.jctfootball.com.
  10. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Baljit Singh Sahni". www.national-football-teams.com.