The India international’s name has also been forwarded by the federation alongside Sandesh Jhingan and Bala Devi…
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has included Jeje Lalpekhlua in the list of recommendations for the famed Arjuna Award, Goal has learnt.
His name was added later to the initial list which comprised of Sandesh Jhingan and Bala Devi.
The India international has 56 caps for the Blue Tigers and has 23 strikes to his name. Jeje made his debut for the senior India national football team in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification against Chinese Taipei and scored a goal.
He won the Best Young Player at the Football Players Association of India’s (FPAI) Indian Football Awards in 2011 and in 2016, he was honoured with the Indian Player of the Year title.
In that season, he scored three goals in as many matches and played a crucial role in India clinching the SAFF Championship. He is the second-highest Indian goalscorer ever in ISL.
Jeje has also won the Indian Super League (ISL) twice with Chennaiyin FC (in 2015 and 2018). He was the Emerging Player of the Year in ISL in the 2015 season. The Mizo Sniper was named the AIFF Emerging Player of the Year in 2013.
He has also won the I-League title in 2014-15 with Mohun Bagan, with whom he also won the Federation Cup in 2015-16.
In the 2019-20 season, the forward did not make any appearance as he was nursing an injury. He was undergoing rehabilitation alongside fellow nominee Sandesh Jhingan in Italy last season.
Previously in 2017 & 2019, the Mizo sniper was also nominated but Bem Bem Devi and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu pipped him to the gong on those two occasions. It remains to be seen whether he makes the cut in his third attempt.
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