Hormipam Ruivah

In this Meitei name, the family name is Ruivah and the given name is Hormipam.

Hormipam Ruivah

Hormipam in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Hormipam Ruivah
Date of birth	(2001-01-25) 25 January 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth	Shongran, Manipur, India
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Kerala Blasters
Number	4
Youth career
2017–2018	SAI
2018–2019	Minerva Punjab
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2021	Punjab	14	(0)
2019–2020	→Indian Arrows (loan)	14	(0)
2021–	Kerala Blasters	52	(0)
International career^‡
2019	India U20	1	(0)
2021–	India U23	1	(0)
2022	India	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:30 5 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:45, 26 March 2022 (UTC)

Hormipam Ruivah (born 25 January 2001) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.^[1]

Club career

Youth and early career

Hormipam hails from Somdal Village in the Ukhrul District of Manipur and has been playing football since his early childhood. He joined the SAI academy in 2017 and spend more than a year at the academy. In 2018, Hormipam joined Minerva Punjab FC and went on to establish himself as a regular for their youth team.^[2] He was central to the dominant Minerva Punjab side that won their maiden Hero Elite League (U-18) title in the 2018–19 season.^[3]

Hormipam joined Indian Arrows on loan from Punjab FC in November 2019 and made his professional debut for the side in their first match of the season against Gokulam Kerala. He started and played the entire match as Indian Arrows lost 0–1.^[4] Hormipam played 14 matches for the Arrows during the 2019–20 I-League.^[5] He returned to Punjab FC for the 2020–21 I-League after the end of his loan spell at Arrows.^[6]

Kerala Blasters

On 8 April 2021, Hormipam joined Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC on a three-year deal which keep him upto 2024.^[7][8] He made his debut for the club on 11 September 2021 against Indian Navy in the Durand Cup, by coming in as a substitute for Abdul Hakku, who suffered an injury during the match.^[9] He played his next Durand Cup match against Bengaluru on 15 September, where he received a red card and the Blasters lost match 2–0 against the arch-rivals.^[10] Hormipam made his ISL debut with the club on 19 December 2021 against the defending champions Mumbai City FC in a 3–0 victory.^[11] He made seven clearances, five interceptions, five tackles and won every ground duel he participated in the match against Mumbai City and was appreciated by the media for his performance in his ISL debut.^[12] In the match against Jamshedpur FC on 10 February 2022, Hormipam was met with a head-clash with the goalkeeper, and was stretched-out of the game.^[13][14] Two days later, the Blasters gave a statement on his injury, where it was confirmed that he has sustained a nasal bone fracture and has undergone a surgery.^[15] On 26 February, he came back to the pitch in the derby match against Chennaiyin FC,^[16] which they won 3–0.^[17] Hormipam eventually formed a formidable and successful partnership with Marko Lešković and emerged as one of the best centre back pairs in the league.^[18] His performance for the Blasters' 0–1 victory against Jamshedpur on 11 March in the first leg of the semi-final earned him the man of the match award.^[19] He was then awarded with ISL's 'Emerging Player of the Month' award for his performance in the month of March,^[20] and was also voted as the 'Hero of the Month' by the fans and experts for the same month.^[21]

After representing the club in their 2022–23 season, Hormipam signed a long-term contract extension with the Blasters until 2027 ahead of the 2023–24 season.^[22] Ruivah played his first match of the season on 13 August 2023 against Gokulam Kerala FC as a substitute for Bijoy Varghese in the 2023 Durand Cup, which they lost 3–4 at full-time.^[23] In the 2023–24 season, Hormipam faced competition from Pritam Kotal, who had arrived from Mohun Bagan, causing him to be pushed to the periphery of Ivan Vukomanović's main starting eleven.^[24]

International career

After a fine season with Minerva Punjab, Hormipam was called up by the Indian U-18 side. He was part of the Indian team that won the 2019 SAFF U-18 Championship held at Nepal.^[25]

In 2021, Ruivah was included in the final squad of the India U-23 team that participated in the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification.^[26]

In March 2022, Ruivah was called up for the national squad by coach Igor Štimac ahead of India's two friendly matches against Bahrain and Belarus.^[27] He made his debut against Belarus on 26 March.^[28]

Career statistics

Club

As of matches played till 17 November 2023^[29]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other[a]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals!	Apps	Goals
Punjab	2019–20	I-League	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2020–21		14	0	—		—		—		14	0
	Punjab total		14	0	—		—		—		14	0
Indian Arrows (loan)	2019–20	I-League	14	0	—		—		—		14	0
Kerala Blasters	2021–22	Indian Super League	14	0	—		—		2	0	16	0
	2022–23		20	0	2	0	—		—		22	0
	2023–24		3	0	—		—		1	0	4	0
	Kerala Blasters total		37	0	2	0	—		3	0	42	0
Career total			65	0	2	0	0	0	3	0	70	0

1. Appearances in Durand Cup

Honours

Minerva Punjab

• Elite League: 2018–19 ^[30]

Kerala Blasters

• Indian Super League runner-up: 2021–22^[31]

India U18

• SAFF U-18 Championship: 2019^[30]

Individual

• Indian Super League Hero of the Month: March 2022^[32]

References

1. "Kerala Blasters FC sign defender Hormipam Ruivah". The Week. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
2. "I hope to have a long footballing career: Kerala Blasters FC defender Ruivah Hormipam". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
3. Jha, Tarkesh (26 December 2022). "Year Ender 2022: Top five rising stars of Indian Football". Khel Now. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
4. "Indian Arrows 0-1 Gokulam Kerala". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
5. "RoundGlass Punjab FC Aims I-League 2020-21 Title – Hormipam Ruivah". footballexpress.in. 18 December 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
6. "Ruviah Hormipam playing for Roundglass punjab FC". footballexpress.in. 20 December 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
7. "Young Indian Defender Hormipam Ruivah joins Kerala Blasters FC". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
8. "Kerala Blasters sign defender Hormipam Ruivah on three-year deal". Khelnow. 8 April 2021. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
9. "Kerala Blasters begin Durand Cup with comfortable win over Indian Navy". Khel Now. 11 September 2021. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
10. Y.B.Sarangi (15 September 2021). "Durand Cup 2021: Bengaluru FC defeats Kerala Blasters 2-0". Sportstar. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
11. Guha, Sayantan. "Mumbai City FC vs Kerala Blasters FC - Who won yesterday's ISL 2021-22 match?". www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
12. "Hormipam Ruivah steals headlines in ISL 2021-22 Team of Gameweek 7". Khel Now. 21 December 2021. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
13. "Ivan Vukomanovic believes poor decisions cost his side three points". Khel Now. 10 February 2022. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
14. "കേരള ബ്ലാസ്റ്റേഴ്‌സ് പ്രതിരോധതാരത്തിനു സീസൺ മുഴുവൻ നഷ്‌ടമായേക്കാമെന്ന് പരിശീലകൻ വുകോമനോവിച്ച്". 90min.com. 11 February 2022. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
15. "Injury Update : Hormipam Ruivah". Kerala Blasters FC. 12 February 2022. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
16. "Ratings: Diaz, Luna excel as Kerala Blasters win against Chennaiyin FC". Khel Now. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
17. "ISL: Diaz hits brace as Kerala Blasters crush Chennaiyin". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
18. Banerjee, Soumik (25 March 2022). "Kerala Blasters: 'I just want to keep learning,' says Ruivah Hormipam". thebridge.in. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
19. "Jamshedpur FC vs Kerala Blasters FC Live Score Update, Commentary, Scorecard". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
20. "Kerala Blasters FC's Ruivah Hormipam wins the Emerging Player of the Month award for March 2022". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
21. "Hero of the Month". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
22. "ISL: Hormipam Ruivah signs long-term extension at Kerala Blasters". Khel Now. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
23. "Kerala Blasters 3-4 Gokulam Kerala Highlights: GKFC beats KBFC to win Kerala Derby in Durand Cup 2023". Sportstar. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
24. "In The Stands: Pritam Kotal discusses how ISL has changed mindset of Indian players". www.indiansuperleague.com. 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
25. Huileng, Reisang Madridista (21 April 2020). "Destine For Greatness: The Rise Of Hormipam Ruivah. | IFTWC - Indian Football Team For World Cup". Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
26. "Indian colts up for the long haul". The Indian Express. 3 November 2021. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
27. "7 new faces as Stimac names final list of 25 for friendlies in Bahrain". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 21 March 2022. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
28. Sportstar, Team (26 March 2022). "India vs Belarus: India loses 0-3 to Belarus in second consecutive friendly defeat". Sportstar. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
29. Hormipam Ruivah at Soccerway
30. "Kerala Blasters sign defender Hormipam Ruivah on three-year deal". Khel Now. 8 April 2021. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
31. "ISL Final 2021-22 Hyderabad FC vs Kerala Blasters FC Highlights: Hyderabad defeats Kerala 3-1 on penalties to lift maiden ISL title". Sportstar. 20 March 2022. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
32. "Ruivah Hormipam wins the March Hero of the Month award!". Indian Super League. 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.