Under 23s strike gold after 23 years, heralding a new golden generation of football
Nepal has been showered with success since August by winning the SAFF U-19s, the Bangabandhu Gold Cup, and now the prestigious South Asian Games. After setting lofty ambitions and reaching dizzying heights, what’s next for the Ghorkalis?
After landing gold at the men’s football finals, and silver at the women’s football finals, it’s fair to say that yesterday was been a proud day to be Nepali. The heroic efforts of the Cheli’s and Ghorkali’s were rewarded with silverware, and despite only falling short at the last hurdle, Anu Lama’s Nepal side coached by Dhruba KC can hold their heads high!
Nepal are now South Asia’s high flyers with 3 football titles within the span of 6 months. This is quite an achievement for a nation that only started playing international FIFA-recognised football 32 years ago (1982 Asian Games). However it wasn’t always an upwards trajectory for the small Himalayan country. Nepal has faced numerous challenges under the tumultuous reign of the largely unpopular former ANFA president, Ganesh Thapa. Although aside from the politics of football, most of the blame cannot be placed squarely on Thapa. Nepal, naturally, has terrain and weather conditions which degrades pitch quality, making training difficult. Infrastructure, funding, diet, scouting, and training methods are also factors that has dragged the Nepalese team down.
Despite all this, Nepal found success in 1984 and 1993 by winning Gold at the South Asian Games. Hari Khadka, Naresh Joshi, Upendra Man Singh, Balgopal Maharjan, Umesh Pradhan, Nirajan Rayamajhi, Basant Thapa, alongside former captains Deepak Amatya, Raju Kaji Shakya (…and others) have all played their part in history. And these legends are still avid followers of Nepali football today.
But after rekindling their successful past, what is next for the Nepal national team? Back when Nepal landed the SAFF U-19 Championship, I suggested that the vast majority of this young squad should make up the bulk of the national team roster, regardless of results. Then soon after, the appointment of Belgian Patrick Aussems saw this happen. Except he added an unfamiliar face: Nawayug Shrestha to lead the attacking line.
Nawayug, who’s name shares an uncanny resemblance to the Nepalese word “Nawa Yug” (New Age) brought out the showstopper finish by scoring the winning goal against India. However, his ‘hat-trick of hat-tricks’ in the months of January and February already cemented his name in the hearts of Nepali fans worldwide.
Alongside this new attacking trio of Anjan, Bimal, and Nawayug, another heroic figure, Prakash Budhathoki, who’s killer free kick (described as ‘World Class’ by the Indian coach Lee Johnson) brought Nepal back into the game and truly shifted the momentum of the rest of the match.
But for me, it was the Semi-final match against Maldives where I truly knew that this was a gold medal winning side. Nepal was a man down, a goal down, and little under 3 minutes left on the clock. This is a tall order for any team to face. But somehow, Nawayug took advantage of the brief lapse in concentration and bagged a double in the span of 3 mins, completing his hat-trick, and catapulting Nepal into the finals with seconds left to go in the most dramatic fashion possible. If this wasn’t the hallmark of champions, I don’t know what is.
Certainly, the bar has been set. And with such a youthful squad, Nepal could enter a similar team again with minimal change for the next 2019 South Asian Games. Or perhaps even challenge for group stage qualification in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. Whatever it is, the sky’s the limit!
Nepal can now dare to dream.
