Tondonba Singh

Ngasepam Tondonba Singh or Tondonba Singh is an Indian footballer who plays in the left back position. Fondly called Nanao by his loved ones, Singh's first exposure to the sport was watching his father and brother play and grew up in Imphal, Manipur dreaming about becoming a professional footballer. To turn the dream into reality, he joined Khuman Lumpak Youth Affairs & Sports (YAS) Academy to train further at the age of 7.

He remained training there until at the age of 11 he joined the youth ranks of NEROCA. He progressed through the ranks and joined the senior team five years later. He played his debut match for the team in the Manipur State League when he was 16 years old.

He continued with the club and went on to play in the 2nd division League for them in the 2016-17 season. NEROCA won the League and got promoted to an I-League team. The club debuted in the 2017-18 I-League. Singh was a consistent fixture in the squad and appeared in 16 out of the 17 matches the club played.

NEROCA finished the season in the second position owing to Singh's excellent performance which did not go unnoticed. At the conclusion of the season, Singh was approached by the Chennaiyin FC with a two-year contract. Earlier this year, he inked the agreement confirming his position in the team and the free transfer in June. He was excited to join the reigning ISL giants as it was his first venture outside Manipur and Imphal.

CFC's head coach John Gregory was pleased with the inclusion of the left back in the team as it made the team's backline stronger. Gregory called Singh a welcome addition with regards to healthy competition within the squad and thinks the defender will be an asset to any team with his caliber for overlap and defense. Like every footballer, he aspires to represent the country in the international scene one day.

He was naturally left-footed and loved running growing up, so when he took up the sport, he liked overlapping which made him want to become a left-back. Like any footballer ever, he had an idol too. He grew up admiring Real Madrid’s left-back Marcelo which in part contributed to him playing in the backline. Currently, he is looking forward to the upcoming ISL season in September end and preparing for the same and the AFC cup prelims.