Nanda Kumar

Nanda Kumar Sekar is a Chennai born Indian footballer who plays as a winger for ISL outfit Delhi Dynamos. Being passionate about the game from a young age, he grew up watching and admiring Barcelona, like many Indian youngsters.

But unlike others, he was resolved to redirect his passion into creating a livelihood and supporting his family by continuously training to become better at the sport. This dedication led him to play at the Chennai Senior Division League in 2016, where Chennai City FC scouted the player. Sekar then went on to join the club and made his debut in a match against Shillong Lajong in February 2017, playing for 51 minutes.

He scored his first goal for the club in a game against East Bengal in March of the same year, which led to the team win 2-1. In total, he made six appearances for the Chennai-based club and scored two goals. Soon after I-League concluded, the winger was called up to India’s U-23 for two friendly matches against Singapore. His training under the head coach Stephan Constantine, according to him, was the best he has ever had as the latter’s knowledge about the game was awe-inspiring.

Impressed by his I-League performance, National capital based Delhi Dynamos loaned him in October 2017 for the following ISL season. Though Sekar remained on the sidelines for five weeks due to loaning rules, the winger managed to make a good impact on the Head coach, Miguel Angel Portugal during practice sessions. He went on to play his debut match for the club in January of 2018 against Chennaiyin FC at his hometown, Chennai. Sekar’s performance at the game not only garnered him praises from his coach and football critiques but also the Emerging Player of the Match award.

At his next fixture against Bengaluru, he once again showcased excellent gameplay and received praises along with his second Emerging player of the award. Though Delhi went on to have a disappointing season ahead, finishing eighth in the table, Sekar’s performance was the silver shining with a goal and four assists in just seven matches under his belt.

After a good season, the versatile winger signed the dotted line of a two and a half year contract between CCFC and DDFC worth of 23 Lacs that enables sharing of the player amongst the two teams, making this transfer the most expensive one for the Delhi based club. With his eyes set on making it into the national team, Sekar is working hard to make it to the playing 11 and to bring up his team in this year’s ISL.