Ashique Kuruniyan

Muhammad Ashique Kuruniyan (born 14 June 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for both Bengaluru and the Indian national team.

Ashique Kuruniyan
Personal information
Full name Muhammad Ashique Kuruniyan
Date of birth (1997-06-14) 14 June 1997
Place of birth Malappuram, Kerala, India
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Bengaluru
Number 19
Youth career
2014–2016 Pune City
2016–2017 → Villareal C (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Pune City 26 (3)
2019– Bengaluru 18 (1)
National team‡
2017–2018 India U20
2018– India 16 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 February 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:10, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Early life

Born in Malappuram, Kerala, Kuruniyan was the fifth child to a father who owned a shop and a mother who was a housewife.[1] In order to help support his family, Kuruniyan dropped out of school when he was in the eighth standard and began work in his father's sugarcane shop. When he finished his work in the evening, he would play football in the fields.[1] He was soon selected by Vision India, a scheme started by the Kerala Football Association, and was with the academy until 2014 when he joined the academy at Pune.[2]

In 2016, when Pune's academy was sold and converted to the FC Pune City Academy, Kuruniyan joined them.[2] In October 2016 it was announced that Kuruniyan would join Villarreal C, the third-team of La Liga side Villarreal, on loan from Pune City.[1] However, after training in Spain for four months, Kuruniyan returned to India in February 2017, after suffering a hamstring injury.[3]

Pune City

In July 2017 it was confirmed that Kuruniyan had signed a professional contract with Pune City and was retained by the club for their upcoming Indian Super League campaign.[4] He made his professional debut for the club on 10 December 2017 in their match against Jamshedpur. He came on as an 83rd-minute substitute for Emiliano Alfaro as Pune City won 1–0.[5] He netted his first goal on 30 December, scoring the first goal in the eighth minute of a 5–0 victory against NorthEast United FC.[6]

International career
Kuruniyan in action during 2019 AFC Asian Cup group match against Thailand.

Kuruniyan has represented India at the under-20 level.[1]

He was called to represent the Indian national senior team in the intercontinental cup to be held in June 2018.[7] Kuruniyan made his international debut against Chinese Taipei on 1 June 2018, when he was substituted-in in the second half. He also represented India in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in UAE.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played on 29 February 2020[8]
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals

Pune City

 2017–18 Indian Super League9110—101
2018–19 17210—182

Bengaluru

 2019–20 1810030211
Total 4442030494

Notes

  1. Includes matches played in Indian Super Cup

International
As of 19 November 2019
National teamYearAppsGoals
India 201891
201970
Total161

International goals
Scores and results list India's goal tally first.[9]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.5 September 2018Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh Sri Lanka1–02–02018 SAFF Championship

References
  1. Kamath, Amit (5 November 2016). "Ashique Kuruniyan: From school dropout to new Villareal recruit". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  2. Singh, Ujwal (30 October 2016). "India to Spain: Meet Indian football prodigy Ashique Kuruniyan". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  3. "Indian youngster Ashique Kuruniyan returns home from Villarreal after hamstring injury". FirstPost. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  4. "200 plus Indian Players Vie for Ten ISL Clubs selection". Indian Super League. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  5. "ISL: Spanish sojourn helps Ashique Kuruniyan as he looks to cement a place in Pune City squad". New Indian Express. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. "ISL 2017: Marcelinho Nets Hat-trick as Pune Trounce NorthEast United 5-0". News18. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  7. "2018 Intercontinental Cup: India announce 30-man squad for camp in Mumbai". Goal.com. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  8. "A. Kuruniyan". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  9. "Kuruniyan, Ashique". National Football Teams. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
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