Ishan Pandita Height, Age, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ishan Pandita

• Ishan Pandita’s family belongs to the Tral town of Kashmir, India. They came to Delhi after the 1990 Kashmiri Pandits Exodus. They moved to the Philippines from India when he was 3 years old.
  

  Ishan Pandita with his father after moving to Philippines

• He liked swimming more than football when he was living in the Philippines and played football in school-level competitions. He started playing football at the age of 5.

• Pandita returned to Bengaluru from the Philippines in 2009. He chose football as a career instead of swimming as the swimming pool/facility was far away, which took him one and a half hours to reach there from his home.
  

  Ishan Pandita with his father during one of his earliest football competition

• He became one of the best players in the International School Bangalore football team and later became the school team captain.

• He has been featured in the BDCA’s A and C division state-level football leagues for Student Unions and Bangalore Yellows.
  

  Ishan Pandita during his early days as a soccer player

• In 2012, he participated in the ‘Airtel Rising Star,’ a talent hunt organised by 20-time Premier League champions Manchester United at Bengaluru.

• He made headlines in 2013 when he played for Makati City FC in the Gothia Cup, where he was spotted by the management of Swedish club IF Brommapojkarna.

• He later played for the Under-17 team of IF Brommapojkarna but did not sign a contract with the club.

• In 2014, Pandita joined the Intersoccer Madrid football academy in Spain which helped him to get a place in Alcobendas CF, a junior club for Atlético de Madrid.
  

  Ishan Pandita when he trained at the Intersoccer Madrid football academy

• He could not sign a professional contract with the Under-18 Almeria in 2015 as he was not 18 years old at that time.

• In 2016, he became the first Indian footballer to play for an age-group team of a Spanish top-division (La Liga) club after signing up with the Under-19 team of Leganés.

• On 5 January 2019, he signed up with the Under-23 team of Gimnàstic.
  

  Ishan Pandita when he played for the under-23 team of Gimnàstic

• He later played one match for the farm team ‘Pobla Mafumet’ in the 2019-2020 season.

• In the 2019-2020 Tercera Division, he emerged as the top scorer of Lorca FC with 6 goals in 26 matches.
  

  Ishan Pandita playing in a match for Lorca FC

• He wanted to play for more popular clubs in various international leagues; however, the onset of COVID-19 made it difficult for him and his family to stay in Spain.
  

  Ishan Pandita (extreme left) with his family members

• He later signed up with FC Goa for the 7th season (2020-2021) of the Indian Super League (ISL).

• On 30 November 2020, he made his debut for FC Goa against NorthEast United FC. On 30 December 2022, he scored his first ISL goal for FC Goa against Hyderabad FC.
  

  Ishan Pandita playing in a match for FC Goa

• During the match, he came in as a substitute in the 86th minute and netted the ball in the 87th minute with his first touch.

• In September 2021, Jamshedpur FC acquired him for two years and reportedly paid a transfer fee of Rs 60 lakhs.
  

  Ishan Pandita playing for Jamshedpur FC

• On 6 January 2022, he scored his maiden goal for Jamshedpur FC against NorthEast United FC. He helped the team win the 2021-2022 League Shield Trophy.
  

  Ishan Pandita with 2021-2022 ISL Shield Trophy

• Pandita played for India in various competitions such as the 2022 VFF Tri-Nations Series in Vietnam and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
  

  Ishan Pandita playing in a match for the Indian football team

• He was a member of the Indian football team which won the 2023 Intercontinental Cup.
  

  Ishan Pandita with the Intercontinental Cup

• In 2023, he was acquired by Kerala Blasters FC (KBFC) for two years with an option to extend for one more year. He also had offers from Chennaiyin FC and East Bengal FC with career-high salaries but he refused those proposals.
  

  Ishan Pandita (in yellow) playing for Kerala Blasters FC

• On 18 August 2023, he made his debut for KBFC against Bengaluru FC reserves in the 2023 Durand Cup.

• His style of playing football is aggressive and physically imposing as he played under British coaches during his childhood and later trained under Spanish coaches during his teenage years.

• Many Indian football critics have called him the next Indian striker after Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri. Bhutia has praised Pandita’s skills on many occasions.

• He has been featured in the EA SPORTS FC24 video game.