Kathmandu, February 22
The last SAFF Championship was held in Maldives. Nepal's last match of the league stage was against Bangladesh. The equation was a draw or a win for Nepal to reach the final. Defeat meant Nepal's elimination from the tournament. It was a do or die situation.
Nepal trailed by a goal for a long time. When the game reached the 88th minute, Anjan Bista scored from a penalty. As a result, Nepal earned a historic berth in the final.
Bista became the hero of the tournament. Not many players dare to take penalties in such a tense situation.
But Bista did and he succeeded in scoring the all-important goal. The year 2079 was a boon Bista – both in domestic and international football. And that's the reason he earned a nomination in the People's Choice category of the Pulsar Sports Awards.
Along with Bista, cricketer Aasif Sheikh, spiker Usha Bhandari, tennis player Abhilasha Bista and swimmer Duwana Lama are in the race to win the award which will be decided through votes from the public along with sports journalists and chief coaches of the national sports associations.
Legendary Indian footballer Shyam Thapa once said Nepal needed a super star footballer for the overall development of the sport. When Bista came to limelight, Thapa had already returned to India. But the importance and relevance of his words are still the same as Nepali football is still in search of a big name. Bista has the potential to be one. With two key players, Kiran Limbu and Rohit Chand heading towards the second half of their playing careers, Bista can fill in the boot and become the game changer in Nepali football.
Bista's playing career can be divided into two parts. He was a normal player when he started his journey.
A turning point came to his career when he got suspended for some time. He made a thunderous come back and reached the peak in no time. Calm and gentle in nature, Bista often says in informal conversation, "I have had opportunity to learn a great lesson in my life. I have probably changed a lot."
So far, Anjan has scored 11 goals for Nepal, two shy of the historical mark in Nepali football.
At the rate he is scoring now, the record of 13 goals doesn't seem too far. Bista has become the focal point of the Nepali national football team, as the main player. Right now, he is in India, playing in the I-League from Mumbai Kenkre.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 23, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
