Kathmandu, May 31

Tribhuvan Army Club footballer Raju Tamang was named the Player of the Year by All Nepal Football Association here amidst a ceremony organised to felicitate the Bangabandhu Gold Cup and South Asian Games gold medal winning teams today.

The 32-year-old Tamang, who has not featured in the national team for the last two years, received a cheque of Rs 2.5 million from Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at the Nepal APF Club. Tamang became the sixth player to get the award in 11 years. Upendra Man Singh and Hari Khadka were rewarded with Toyota Yaris cars, while Rakesh Shrestha, Sagar Thapa and Ritesh Thapa were handed over the apartments but the trio is yet to receive the award.

“This is like a dream come true for me,” said Tamang, who made his national team debut in 2005 SAF Championship match against Bangladesh in Pakistan. He has earned 44 caps since. He played his last match against Indonesia in an international friendly in Qatar in 2014. “I had not even thought of becoming the player of the year,” added the Warrant Officer at Nepali Army. He was drafted in the youth team for the AFC U-20 Championship Qualifiers in 2003 and was also the member of the AFC Youth Championship the following year. “I will use this money to build a house for my parents so that I can stay with them.”

After making the national team debut in 2005, Tamang played in the AFC Challenge Cup (Bangladesh, 2006), 10th South Asian Games (Sri Lanka, 2006), SAFF Championship (Maldives/Sri Lanka, 2008), AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers (Cambodia, 2008), AFC Challenge Cup Final round (India, 2008), 46th Merdeka Cup (Malaysia, 2008), SAFF Championship (Bangladesh, 2009), AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers (Nepal, 2009), PM Invitational Tournament (Nepal, 2009), 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (Oman, 2009), SAFF Championship (India, 2011), AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers (Nepal, 2012), AFC Challenge Cup Final Round (Nepal, 2012), 75th Nehru Cup (India, 2012), SAFF Championship (Nepal, 2013) and AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers (Maldives, 2013).

The midfielder also featured in the national team for 10 international friendlies. He was also the part of the team that won bronze medal in the 10th SA Games in Colombo in 2006.

In domestic circuit, Tamang started his domestic career from Friends Club in 2003 and played in the Martyrs Memorial ‘B’ Division League and was part of the club’s ‘A’ Division campaign until 2003 winning the Tilottoma Gold Cup in 2001. He then joined Tribhuvan Army Club in 2004 and is still associated with the departmental side. He has won five titles with the TAC, while he was also the team member of Three Star Club that won Governor’s Gold Cup in Sikkim in 2008. With TAC, Tamang won Bir Ganeshman Singh Memorial Gold Cup, Pathari Gold Cup, Simara Gold Cup, Mai Valley Gold Cup and Birat Gold Cup in 2014 and was part of the squad that won Jhapa Gold Cup in 2015.

Meanwhile, the ANFA also rewarded the Bangabandhu Gold Cup and South Asian Games gold medal winning team members with Rs 500,000 each. Skipper Biraj Maharjan and his team of Bikesh Kuthu, Alan Neupane, Amrit Chaudhary, Aditya Chaudhary, Ananta Tamang, Dinesh Rajbanshi, Man Bahadur Tamang, Kamal Shrestha, Bikram Lama, Bishal Rai, Heman Gurung, Jagajeet Shrestha, Prakash Budhathoki,Anjan Bista, Bimal Gharti Magar, Nawayug Shrestha, Ranjan Bista, Sunil Bal, Suman Lama, Tej Tamang, Jangbu Sherpa, and Rabin Shrestha lifted the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in Dhaka in December 2015 ending Nepal’s 17-year title drought. The 23 players and coaches Balgopal Maharjan and Upendra Man Singh along with physio Raju Dahal received Rs 500,000 each.

Two months later the U-23 team, also skippered by Biraj Maharjan, defeated India 2-1 in Guwahati to win the SA Games gold medal for the first time in 23 years. Three players — Tej Tamang, Jangbu Sherpa, and Rabin Shrestha — were omitted from the Bangabandhu Gold Cup winning squad for the regional games. PM Oli handed over Rs 500,000 each to the 20 players and coaches Raju Kaji Shakya and Mrigendra Mishra.

Also, the SA Games silver medal winning women’s team members were also honoured on the occasion. Skipper Anu Lama, Anjali Thumba Subba, Lila Lamgade, Namita Kumari Dalli, Niru Thapa, Sajana Rana, Deepa Adhikari, Laxmi Paudel, Krishna Khatri, Sabitra Bhandari, Mana Maya Limbu, Anita Basnet, Ghim Kumari Gurung, Amrita Jaisi, Deepa Rai, Poonam Jarga Magar, Anjali Waiba, Bhagawati Thapa, Hira Kumari Bhujel and Sapana Lama and coaches Dhruba KC and Kumar Katuwal received Rs 100,000 each.

After felicitating the players, PM Oli said the players needed to be given ample opportunity to do even better in the days to come. “These players have not got adequate chances and we have to provide them with opportunities to get more success in future,” said Oli. “We have not achieved new height and instead we have reached the level where we were before. We need to go far ahead than this,” the PM added.