Lallianzuala Chhangte wins AIFF Men's Footballer of the Year award for 2022-23

Indian football team midfielder Lallianzuala Chhangte was named the AIFF Men’s Footballer of the Year for 2022-23 while Manisha Kalyan won her second consecutive Women’s Footballer of the Year award. The 26-year-old Lallianzuala Chhangte beat Nandhakumar Sekar and Naorem Mahesh Singh of East Bengal to win the award.

About the Lallianzuala Chhangte

Lallianzuala Chhangte bagged the award on the back of some stellar performances for the Indian national team and Mumbai City FC, his club. The winger made 12 appearances for the national team during the 2022-23 season, scoring two goals and providing one assist.

The Mizoram player was also the highest scorer among Indians in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 season with 10 goals and six assists in 22 appearances. He helped Mumbai make the semi-finals after topping the league stage. He was eighth in the overall ISL scoring charts for the season. Lallianzuala Chhangte became only the second player from Mizoram, after Jeje Lalpekhlua (2016), to win the AIFF Men’s Player of the Year award.

About the Manisha Kalyan

Meanwhile, Manisha Kalyan pipped Dalima Chhibber and Ngangbam Sweety Devi to the AIFF Women’s Player of the Year 2022-23 award. It was her second Player of the Honour in two seasons. The 21-year-old Manisha Kalyan, who won the 2020-21 AIFF Women’s Emerging Footballer of the Year, currently plays as a forward for Apollon, a first division football club in Cyprus. Manisha Kalyan became only the third Indian female footballer to win the individual award two or more times after Bala Devi (three) and Bembem Devi (two).