Bengaluru boy Ishan Pandita becomes first Indian to sign professional contract with La Liga club

Ishan Pandita, a Bengaluru based teenager, has inked a deal with international club Deportivo Leganes to become first Indian to sign a contract with the La Liga tournament.

According to a report in The Times of India, club vice-president and owner, Felipe Moreno welcomed Pandita by giving him Leganes' blue and white striped jersey, with No. 50 written on it, at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque in Leganes.

Pandita will start with the club's U-19 team despite signing the contract to play with the main team which is currently ranked at number 11 in La Liga.

Young striker of Kashmiri origin started early with Alcobendas CF in Madrid, said the report. This club is known as the feeder club to one of the La Liga giants Atletico Madrid. Later in 2015, he reportedly joined the U-18 team of second division club UD Almeria. Because of his age, he could not sign the professional contract with the team, added the report.

Before joining Leganes, Pandita did trials for Ge tafe, another La Liga club, but the deal reportedly couldn't go through because the team got relegated and Pandita wanted to sign with La Liga club.

Leganes academy director Jorge Broto Benavente said, "What impressed us most about Ishan were his physical attributes and ability to score goals. It's too early to say when he will break into the main team -he is a young player, a rough diamond to be worked on," reports the daily.

Pandita also told the daily that the road has been tough for him. He feels it's all worth it after the hard three years he spent in Spain.