I-LEAGUE
By Our Reporter
Shillong, Apr 17: Meghalaya-born Padam Chettri has been named as the Best Goalkeeper from I-League 2023-24.
The goalie won the I-League title with Mohammedan Sporting and stood in goal for 22 out of the 24 matches this season, playing the full 90 minutes in each for a total of 1,980 on the pitch.
He kept clean sheets in eight of these games.
Padam spent a number of years at Rangdajied United FC before also playing for Ryntih SC while also featuring in the Meghalaya state team.
He then joined a number of other Meghalaya players who were signed by Kenkre FC for the 2021-22 I-League season. Padam stayed at the Mumbai-based club for 2022-23. In all he played in 23 I-League matches for Kenkre spread across two seasons.
Mohammedan Sporting players claimed many of the individual awards announced by the All India Football Federation on Wednesday. All but the Best Coach award carried a prize purse of Rs 1 lakh.
Although his club, Gokulam Kerala FC, finished third in the table, Spaniard Alejandro Sanchez Lopez finished as the top scorer of the league with 19 goals from 22 appearances, a feat that won him both the Highest Scorer and Best Player awards.
Padam produced some brilliant performances under the bar for Mohammedan, something that allowed them to earn crucial points at various stages during the season.
His team mate, Mirajlol Kasimov, played a pivotal role in orchestrating Mohammedan’s attacks and was named Best Midfielder of the season.
Real Kashmir conceded only 19 goals from their 24 matches and their captain Muhammad Hammad was instrumental at the back for them. Hammad was announced as the winner of the Jarnail Singh Award for Best Defender.
Nineteen-year-old winger Gymar Nikum was named as the Best Emerging Player of the season, having scored four goals in Inter Kashi’s fourth-placed finish.
With 15 wins, seven draws, and only two losses under his belt, Mohammedan Sporting head coach Andrey Chernyshov earned the Syed Abdul Rahim Award for the Best Coach of the season.
TRAU FC did not have much to look forward to in a season where they finished dead last but have been one of the most-disciplined sides in the league and were named as the winners of the Fair Play award.