ISL 2017: Kerala Blasters' Sandesh Jhingan nominated for breakthrough performance of the year

What's the story?

On November 11, the inaugural Indian Sports Honours will be held in Mumbai. The country's top sporting performers in the period from August 1, 2016 to July 31, 2017 will be recognised and rewarded at the ceremony. There are the Popular Choice Awards, where fans can vote for their favourite sportspersons in 5 major categories. One particular athlete in the breakthrough performances category, is footballer Sandesh Jhingan.

In Case You Didn't Know

The Indian defender has been an integral player for the Indian football team. He has scored a total of 4 goals in his international career. He also won the ISL Emerging Player of the Year and AIFF Emerging Player of the Year awards, both in 2014.

The Heart of the Matter

Sandesh Jhingan has been an integral part of the Kerala Blasters set-up since the inaugural edition of the ISL. The 24-year-old is one of the Indian national team's first choice defenders. He was loaned out to Bengaluru FC last season in the I-League. Jhingan helped the Blues win the Federation Cup during his time with them. The Blasters fans, however, will be hoping that Jhingan can finally win a trophy in the yellow jersey, as he prepares for the upcoming ISL 2017 season.

Joining Jhingan in the breakthough category are Hardik Pandya (men's cricket), Harmanpreet Kaur (women's cricket) and Dipa Karmakar (gymnastics).

What Next?

He is currently gearing up for the upcoming ISL season with the Kerala Blasters. The Chandigarh native became the highest paid Indian football player after a massive INR 3.8 crore deal with the Sachin Tendulkar co-owned franchise.

Sportskeeda's Take

With regards to this particular award, Jhingan has his work cut out because he is competing against the likes of Hardik Pandya, Harmanpreet Kaur and Dipa Karmakar. But We can be sure that he will get it due to his stellar performance on the pitch.