Lalthathanga Khawlhring (born 30 March 1998), commonly known as Puitea, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lalthathanga Khawlhring | ||
| Date of birth | (1998-03-30) 30 March 1998 (age 24) | ||
| Place of birth | Aizawl, Mizoram, India | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Kerala Blasters | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2016 | Bethlehem Vengthlang | ||
| 2016–2017 | DSK Shivajians | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | DSK Shivajians | 4 | (0) |
| 2017–2020 | NorthEast United | 29 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Aizawl (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2020– | Kerala Blasters | 36 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 November 2022 | |||
Born in Mizoram, Lalthathanga began his career with Bethlehem Vengthlang in the Mizoram Premier League before joining DSK Shivajians's academy.[1] After the 2015–16 season, Lalthathanga was named as the best midfielder in the league.[1]
On 8 January 2017 Lalthathanga made his professional debut for DSK Shivajians in their opening I-League fixture of the 2016–17 season against Mumbai. He started and played the full match despite DSK Shivajians falling 1–0 at the Cooperage Ground.[2]
On 29 July 2017, NorthEast United announced that they had completed a transfer for Lalthathanga, who signed a three-year contract but was immediately loaned to Aizawl for the 2017–18 season. He was a mainstay for Aizawl during the season, and would finish the season with a solitary goal.
After successful season with Aizawl, Lalthathanga came back to NorthEast United for season 2018–19 season. On 1 October 2018, he made his debut against Goa. He played one more season there and made a total of 29 appearances for the club.
On 16 September, he was signed by Kerala Blasters FC on a three-year deal.[3] He made his debut for the Blasters against ATK Mohun Bagan on 20 November 2020, coming as a substitute in the 47th minute, where the match ended 1–0 in favour of ATK Mohun Bagan.[4] He scored his first-ever goal in Indian Super League and for the club against Bengaluru FC on 20 January 2021, coming on as a 46th minute substitute for Jordan Murray and the match ended 2–1 in favour for Kerala Blasters.[5]
Puitea was included in the Kerala Blasters squad for the 2021 Durand Cup, and played all three matches for the club in the tournament.[6] He played his first match of the 2021–22 Indian Super League season on 25 November 2021, which ended in a 0–0 draw as a substitute for Ayush Adhikari in the 60th minute of the game.[7][8] Puitea played a fundamental role in Kerala Blasters 3–1 victory over Mumbai City FC on 2 March 2022, and was chosen as the man of the match in the post-match conference.[9] He formed a solid partnership with Jeakson Singh in the midfield and helped the Blasters to reach the finals, which they lost to Hyderabad on penalties.[10]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Durand Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| DSK Shivajians | 2016–17 | I-League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 |
| Aizawl (loan) | 2017–18 | I-League | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 |
| NorthEast United | 2018–19 | Indian Super League | 20 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | — | — | — | 21 | 0 |
| 2019–20 | Indian Super League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |
| NorthEast United total | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| Kerala Blasters | 2020–21 | Indian Super League | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 1 |
| 2021–22 | Indian Super League | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| Kerala Blasters total | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 80 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 91 | 2 | ||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Kerala Blasters FC – current squad | |
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