Manisha Kalyan

Manisha Kalyan (born 27 November 2001) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Greek A Division club PAOK and the India women's national team. She won the 2020–21 AIFF Women's Emerging Footballer of the Year and the 2022–23 AIFF Women's Player of the Year awards. She is the first Indian footballer to play in the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Early life
Manisha was born in Muggowal, located in the district of Horshiarpur, Punjab. She studied in Sant Attar Singh Khalsa Senior Secondary School and graduated from Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women. She started playing football at the age of 13. Brahmjit Singh was the coach who spotted Kalyan's talent as a PE teacher at Government Middle School in her village Muggowal.

Gokulam Kerala
In 2018, Manisha signed with the newly formed Indian Women's League club Gokulam Kerala. She played a pivotal role in Gokulam's success in the 2019–20 IWL campaign. She scored 2 goals against the Kenkre FC, where her side won 1–10, she also scored a goal in their semi-finals against Sethu FC. She scored 3 goals in the tournament and was chosen as the emerging player of the tournament.

In 2021, she became the first women player from India to score in a top-flight Asian competition, when she scored in the 2021 AFC Women's Club Championship match against FC Bunyodkor, the Women's Team of Uzbekistan on 14 November, which they won 3–1 at full-time.

Apollon Ladies
On July 3, 2022, it was officially announced that Kalyan signed a contract with Limassol based Cypriot First Division club Apollon Ladies. She made her debut for the club on 18 August, coming on as a 60th minute substitute in a 3–0 win against Rīgas FS at the UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round.

On 2 October 2022, she scored her first goal for the club against Aris Limassol in a Cypriot First Division match. When Apollon Limassol won the 2022–23 Cypriot Women's League, she became the first Indian woman to win a European Championship. She was included in the 2022–23 Pancyprian Footballers Association (PASP) women's team of the season.

PAOK
On July 15, 2024, it was officially announced that Kalyan signed a contract with Thessaloniki based Greek A Division club PAOK.

International career
Manisha was selected for the India Under-17 National Squad to play the 2018 BRICS U-17 Football Cup which was held in South Africa. She scored a goal against China Under-17, however, her side ended up losing 2–1. Manisha was then promoted to the India Under-19 National Team. She received public attention when she delivered a memorable performance in India's inspiring win over Thailand in the AFC U-19 Women's Championship Qualifiers. She scored a hat-trick in the same tournament against Pakistan which resulted in the victory of the India side with a big margin of 18–0. Manisha got her senior team call-up for the match against Hong Kong in January 2019 at the age of 17.

Kalyan made her national team debut against Indonesia in January 2019, while she maiden goal against Bangladesh in the 2019 SAFF Women's Championship. She scored her third goal against UAE on 2 October 2021 as India won the match with a score of 4–1.

With India, Kalyan went to Brazil for the 2021 International Women's Football Tournament of Manaus. On 26 November 2021, she created history after scoring a goal against Brazil in their 6–1 defeat at the 2021 International Women's Football Tournament of Manaus. In February 2024, she appeared with India at the 2024 Turkish Women's Cup, in which they ended the campaign as runners-up.

Style of play
Manisha is an attacking midfielder and is known for her both creativity and her physicality. She is a versatile player who can attack and operate in the wings and even performs as a number 9. Primarily she plays as a left winger and sometimes as a left back.

Personal life
She is the younger daughter of Narinder Pal, a businessman and Rajkumari Pal, a homemaker.

In an interview with Goal, Manisha revealed that she is a supporter of Argentine player Lionel Messi.

International

 * Scores and results list India's goal tally first.

Honours
India
 * SAFF Women's Championship: 2019
 * South Asian Games Gold medal: 2019
 * Turkish Women's Cup runner-up: 2024

Gokulam Kerala
 * Indian Women's League: 2019–20, 2021–22

Apollon
 * Cypriot First Division: 2022–23, 2023–24
 * Cypriot Women's Cup: 2022–23
 * Cypriot Women's Super Cup: 2023

Individual
 * Indian Women's League Hero of the League: 2021–22
 * Indian Women's League Emerging Player: 2019–20
 * AIFF Women's Player of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23
 * AIFF Women's Emerging Footballer of the Year: 2020–21
 * PASP Best 11 Women Awards: 2022–23
 * The Times of India TOISA Footballer of the Year: 2021
 * Turkish Women's Cup Best Midfielder: 2024