Karanjit Singh

Hailing from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, Karanjit Singh was born on 8th January 1986. He is an Indian professional football player and currently plays for Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League as a goalkeeper.

Background

Karanjit made a late foray into professional football. He started playing the sport at 15, and only towards the end of his schooling days he made a mark when he was spotted by former national coach Sukhwinder Singh in 2004 at a local tournament and subsequently joined JCT.

Until 2010, Singh represented JCT after which he joined Salgaocar where he spent major part of his club career. Later he joined Chennaiyin FC on loan and still continues to play with them.

It wasn't easy for Karanjit as he did not have a goalkeeping coach at his disposal, but he worked hard and with self-help he developed himself as a professional goalkeeper.

Debut

On 23rd July 2011, Singh made his national team debut against the United Arab Emirates when he was hauled in as a substitute in place for the red-carded Subrata Pal and ended on the side of a 3-0 defeat. But the year only got better for Karanjit as he played a starring role in India's 2011 SAFF cup win.

Rise to Glory

Karanjit has had a rollercoaster of a career so far and the year 2011 stands out as one of his best as he played a pivotal role in India’s road to triumph in SAFF Cup by some crucial saves in the final which made him a hero.

He also helped the Salgaocar club to an I-League triumph in the 2010-11 season.

Club Career

Singh played six years for JCT FC from 2004 to 2010 and earned huge praise while with the club.

Singh signed for fellow I-League side Salgaocar for the I-League 2010-11 season and helped the side to its only I-League title win in its history. After a season with Salgaocar, Karanjit helped the Goans to the I-League championship.

After signing for Chennaiyin in 2015 on loan, Singh became the first-choice keeper in 2016 when it finished a lowly seventh. However, CFC also conceded 25 goals as its title defence never took off. But he came back strongly in the 2017-18 season, with strong performances between the sticks in Chennaiyin’s run to being champions.

Low Points

Karanjit had many ups and downs in his career and now 31, Karanjit last played for India in a goalless draw against Nepal in 2015. He harbours hopes of adding to his 17 caps through his performances in ISL. But his position is stocked with established goalkeepers and emerging talent among the likes of Gurpreet, Subrata and Amrinder Singh.

Records

Apart from I-league title, Singh also won the Federation Cup and Durand Cup with Salgaocar in 2011 and 2014 respectively. In 2015, Karanjit made 4 appearances for the Super Machans where he contributed with his goalkeeping skills in Chennaiyin FC's title-winning season.