Chhangte, Indumathi bag ‘Player of the Year’ honours at AIFF Awards

NEW DELHI: Lallianzuala Chhangte and Indumathi Kathiresan were named the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) Best Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year 2023-24 in a glittering AIFF Award Night attended by a galaxy of icons from the sporting world in New Delhi on Friday.

Among the dignitaries present were the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, Olympic medal winning wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, India’s Davis Cup captain, Rohit Rajpal and many other well-known faces of Indian sport, as per a press release from AIFF.

Among other dignitaries were Amitav Sharma, Executive Council Member, Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Lieutenant General Harpal Singh, Executive Council Member, IOA, Monal Chokshi, General Secretary, Swimming Federation of India, Narendra Batra, former President, IOA, FIH, and Hockey India, Rajiv Mehta, former Secretary, Indian Olympic Association, Bholanath Singh, Secretary General, Hockey India, Kishore, General Manager, Nivia Sports, Sahdev Yadav, Treasurer and Executive Council Member, Indian Olympic Association, Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, former President, Wushu Association of India, Namdev Shirgaonkar, President, Commonwealth Taekwondo Union, Vipin Kumar, Brand Manager, Performax, Rochak Langer, Chief Operating Officer, FSDL, Jackey Kothia, Head of Marketing, IndiGo, Shiv Sharma, Deputy Director General, Sports Authority of India.

The entire top brass of the All India Football Federation, including the AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, Vice President, NA Haris, Treasurer Kipa Ajay, Acting Secretary General, M Satyanarayan, Executive Committee members, and senior officials of the state associations, were present.

While welcoming the minister, AIFF president Chaubey, said, “Today is a day of joy. I would like to thank Dr Mandaviya, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, and all my colleagues in the AIFF and the IOA for joining us here. It is a special day as we honour the best players, coaches, referees, member associations, and everyone involved in the Indian football fraternity, who help the sport move forward together in our country”.

Mandaviya said, “It is an honour to be present in this prestigious event organised by the AIFF and our friend Chaubey. It is fantastic to see the best players, coaches, referees, and state associations being felicitated here. Football is the most popular sport in the world. I believe that sports is not only about playing, but also about discipline and friendly behaviour. I believe that when we present awards, we recognise their greatness, and, in turn, encourage the winners to keep winning and perform even better. Let us all pledge to take Indian sports to greater heights.”

Rijiju said, “I would like to congratulate all the award winners tonight. Thank you for inviting me on such a wonderful evening for Indian football. I am very happy to be here with my colleague and the new Sports Minister, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya. I am sure that under his and our Prime Minister’s guidance, the entire sports fraternity will do better”.

“It especially heartens me to see rapid development in grassroots football, the results of which, I am sure we will see in the next eight to ten years. With Khelo India and the Youth Leagues, Indian football will have a good future. From the early 1950s and 1960s, Indian football was at a very high standard and we can surely revive it. It is not possible to get success immediately. The footballing culture has to go deeper. We need to build that passion and craze in the country. Money and infrastructure is not enough alone. Culture of sports is the most critical, and medals and trophies will follow”.

Apart from Chhangte and Indumathi, the other individual award winners were Khalid Jamil (Best Men’s Coach), Sukla Dutta (Best Women’s Coach), David Lalhlansanga (Promising Men’s Player), Neha (Promising Women’s Player), Ramachandran Venkatesh (Best Referee) and Ujjal Halder (Best Assistant Referee).

Lallianzuala Chhangte was awarded the AIFF Men’s Player of the Year for the second time in a row, becoming only the fifth player to win the award multiple times. The 2023-24 Indian Super League Cup winner scored 11 goals and assisted seven in all competitions for his club Mumbai City FC and was the highest scoring Indian in the ISL. For the Indian national team, Chhangte scored against Qatar in Doha in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in June 2024.

Chhangte said, “I am so honored to receive this award. Although I cannot be there, I am sending a huge thank you to our Sports Minister sir. Thank you so much for this prestigious award, which I feel is so undeserving. And tonight, I thank God, my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, for His guidance, protection, and blessings. He is the only reason why I am here. Next, my family who have been my biggest supporters since day one. My friends and family from Mumbai City FC and my brothers in the national team. This is not possible for me without you guys backing me up”.

Indumathi Kathiresan was awarded the AIFF Women’s Player of the Year, becoming the first player from Tamil Nadu to win the award. The midfielder won the 2023-24 Indian Women’s League title with Odisha FC, scoring five goals in the competition. Indumathi won the Best Midfielder award in the IWL. For the Indian national team, she scored against Estonia in the Turkish Women’s Cup in February 2024.

Indumathi said, “I am so delighted to be here tonight and receive this award. I did not expect to win it. I am so happy and I would like to thank my coach and my teammates for helping me win this award”.

Young striker David Lalhlansanga was awarded the AIFF Promising Men’s Player of the Year for his fiery goalscoring form in the season. The 22-year-old scored 34 goals for Mohammedan Sporting in last season’s I-League, Calcutta Football League, and the Durand Cup, helping his side win the former two titles. Lalhlansanga was the top scorer in the CFL and the Durand Cup and earned his first national team call-up in May 2024 for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Eighteen-year-old winger Neha was awarded the AIFF Promising Women’s Player of the Year for her stellar performances down the flanks. She scored two goals in India’s SAFF U19 Women’s Championship triumph in Bangladesh. Neha was also influential in Haryana’s run to the final of the Senior Women’s National Football Championship for Rajmata Jijabai Trophy, scoring three goals for her state. She also netted one goal in the IWL for HOPS FC and was part of the senior India squad for the friendlies against Uzbekistan and Myanmar.

Neha said, “I feel very happy about winning the most promising women’s player award. It’s a great honour to receive it in front of my coach and a senior player like Indu Didi, whom I admire. I hope I can make my country and parents proud, and I wish to keep performing well”.

Jamshedpur FC head coach Khalid Jamil was awarded the AIFF Men’s Coach of the Year. Taking charge of the club midseason, he led the Red Miners to the semi-finals of the Kalinga Super Cup, their best-ever finish in the competition.

The AIFF Women’s Coach of the Year was awarded to Sukla Dutta, who coached India to the SAFF U19 Women’s Championship title in Bangladesh and also won the inaugural edition of the IWL 2 as the head coach of Sreebhumi FC, thus earning promotion to next season’s IWL.

Ramachandran Venkatesh was awarded the AIFF Referee of the Year. He has been an AFC Elite Referee since 2022 and oversaw the finals of the ISL Cup and the Kalinga Super Cup this season. Venkatesh also refereed one match each in the AFC Cup and the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Ujall Halder was awarded the AIFF Assistant Referee of the Year. He was included in the AFC Elite Referee panel this year and oversaw 22 matches in the ISL and the I-League in the 2023-24 season.

List of all AIFF Award Winners for 2023-24:

• Men’s Player of the Year: Lallianzuala Chhangte
• Women’s Player of the Year: Indumathi Kathiresan
• Promising Men’s Player of the Year: David Lalhlansanga
• Promising Women’s Player of the Year: Neha
• Men’s Coach of the Year: Khalid Jamil
• Women’s Coach of the Year: Sukla Dutta
• Referee of the Year: Ramachandran Venkatesh
• Assistant Referee of the Year: Ujjal Halder
• Most Successful MA (Club Competitions): Indian Football Association (West Bengal)
• Most Successful MA (NFC Competitions): All Manipur Football Association
• Best MA – Supporting Women’s Football: Punjab Football Association
• Best MA for hosting most AIFF competitions: Football Association of Odisha and Goa Football Association
• MA with most player registrations (men’s): Kerala Football Association
• MA with most player registrations (women’s): Western India Football Association (Maharashtra)
• Special Award for MA launching new projects: Gujarat State Football Association
• MA with most Grassroots activities: Gujarat State Football Association
• MA with most Youth tournaments conducted: Karnataka State Football Association
• MA with most Coaching courses: Punjab Football Association
• MA with most Refereeing courses: Gujarat State Football Association

Special awards highlighting support to various AIFF events:

• Government of Arunachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh Football Association: For hosting the Santosh Trophy Final Round
• Government of Odisha and Football Association of Odisha: For hosting FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Intercontinental Cup, Kalinga Super Cup, Senior Women’s NFC Group Stage, Junior Boys’ and Girls’ NFC Tier 1 and Sub-Junior Youth League
• Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council: For twice hosting the India U17 men’s national team camp and upgrading the infrastructure of the TRC Ground. (ANI)