Shillong Lajong FC Youth Academy product Rupert Nongrum was awarded with the Dalmia Cement Young Achievers Award for his contribution and achievement in the field of football, in the state of Meghalaya.

The Award was presented to Rupert Nongrum by Dalmia Cement Brand Ambassador and Youth Icon, MC Mary Kom, in a star studded function held in Guwahati on Tuesday night.

The soft spoken versatile midfielder was born in the year 1996 and has been playing football from a very young age. He took his passion and love for the game very seriously and was enrolled to the Shillong Lajong FC Youth Academy in the year 2009.

The Shillong lad was part of the Shillong Lajong FC U-15 Team that won the Manchester United Premier Cup in January 2010. Lajong won the Indian leg of the tournament in February 2010 after defeating JCT in the final. The team which comprised of young boys from the North East Region including Rupert Nongrum, represented India in the World Finals held in Manchester to compete with the youth teams of some of the biggest clubs in the world in the Manchester United Premier Cup 2010.

The young skilful midfielder, who now plays for the Shillong Lajong FC Senior Team in the I-League, has won many trophies with the club including the U-19 Shillong Premier League in 2011, the Shillong Premier League in 2014 and also captained the Reds in 2015 when the team won the title again for the second consecutive time. Rupert lived up to his captain duties as he scored the winning goal which helped his side beat Royal Wahingdoh in the final by a scoreline of 2-1.

Rupert Nongrum has also played a significant role while wearing the Blue Jersey for his country on many occasions. He was selected in the India U-16 National Team in 2010 and was part of the Indian side that travelled to South Africa for the U-16 Coca-Cola International Cup and reached the semi-finals.

The Indian National Team selected Rupert Nongrum in 2010 to take part in the Aliance Junior Football Camp which was organised by FC Bayern Munich in Germany.

In the year 2013, Rupert was selected for the India U-19 National Team’s AFC U-19 Championship Preparatory Camp which was held in Goa. The team travelled to China for an exposure trip in 2013 and played several matches with well known football clubs in China. Rupert then played for India in the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers which was held in Qatar in 2013.

Apart from playing football, Rupert is also a BA second year student at the Shillong College and he gets immense support from his family and friends. He enjoys spending his free time with his family and playing table tennis.

“We at Shillong Lajong Football Club congratulate Rupert Nongrum on winning the Young Achievers Awards. We are immensely proud of our youngster who has achieved so much at a very young age and all this is because of his continued dedication, sincerity, passion and love for the beautiful game of football. He has made our state of Meghalaya truly proud and we wish him the best for the future,” Shillong Lajong FC stated.