FULL NAME: Pankaj Sona
NICK NAME: Chhotu
GENDER: Male
BORN: November 3, 1993 in Jharsuguda
FAMILY: His family comprises father Abhimanyu Sona, mother Seema Sona, two broters and one sister.
HOME ADDRESS: Kabristanpara, Near Railway Colony, Jharsuguda, Odisha, India.
TYPE OF PLAYER: Mid-fielder
FIRST COACH: Gangadhar Behera

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS:

STATE:
*     Won the Best Player trophy in the Biju Patnaik Gold Cup Football Tournament at Bhubaneswar in 2010.
*     Helped Sambalpur Sports Hostel win the Biju Patnaik Gold Cup Football Tournament at Bhubaneswar in 2008-09.

NATIONAL:
*     Represented Odisha in the Qualifying Round (East Zone) of the Santosh Trophy 70th Senior Men National Football Championship, held at Kalyani, West Bengal from Feb 9 to 14, 2016.
*     Represented Tata Football Academy in IFA Shield, Durand Cup, Darjeeling Gold Cup, Sikkim Gold Cup and other important tournaments.
*     Helped Tata Football Academy win the Darjeeling Gold Cup Tournament in November, 2011.
*     Represented Odisha State team in the Under 14 and 16 nationals.

INTERNATIONAL:
*     Represented India in the Wifan Cup Tournament in China in August 2011.
*     While at TFA in 2010, he went to the tour of Singapore which incidentally was his first-time in an airplane.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
*     He ran out from his class when his friend called him up to inform about the trail at Churchill Brothers.
*     Joined Churchill Brothers SC in Sept 2014 and scored three goals for the Red Machines in the Goa Pro League.
*     He was introduced to football by his uncle Ranjit Suna, who was a district level footballer.
*     Started his football career at the Government Sports Hostel, Sambalpur, where he spent five years from 2005 to 2010.
*     Joined Tata Football Academy in February 2010.
*     I-League team Pailan Arrows signed him for two years at a cost of Rs 16 lakhs in 2012.
*     In 2012, he graduated from TFA and joined Pailan Arrows. But as luck would have it, the club shut shop the following year, leaving him without a club to play.
*     He then decided to pursue his college education as he was seeing no future in football.
*     Enrolled himself in a college back in his hometown and started attending regular classes until that call from Goa.

PROFILE FIRST UPLOADED: March 9, 2012
PROFILE LAST UPDATED: February 21, 2016