It´s not that I used to play football from the very beginning or I dreamt of being a footballer during my younger days as I had won 100 meter race a couple of times and was also a member of a volleyball team when my school won a district-level match. Showing some gymnastic stunts along the beach of rivers was another memorable moment of my yesteryears. [break]
I was never involved in any gang fights directly and I never hit anyone but I was a spy appointed by my gang, Chandragadhi, because I was young and no one would ever suspect me. My job was to monitor the activities of our foes, Bhadrapur.
One day my mother found about me being an intelligent agent for the gang and I was locked in my room when the two gangs were in the plans to take the fight to the field, face to face. But my loyalty toward the gang was such that I jumped out from the window and ran away.
Another vivid memory I have of my childhood is I once urinated on a car and the driver followed me. While I was chased, I fell down and broke my hand. When my father knew about it, I got a good thrash from my father and then he took me to the hospital (laughs).
Also, on another occasion I stole Rs 50 from my mother´s purse. I spent Rs 35 to buy a football and then handed over the remaining amount to my aunt so that I could ask her for money whenever I needed it for tiffin. Unfortunately, this time, too, I was caught by mother who vented her anger on me slapping my face.
I feel really embarrassed when I recall all these activities that I did but I know everyone has to pass through these phases in their lives.
My passion for football took me to Germany to participate in a training session at Potash School. I was a sole member representing Nepal in the training session, which I consider as a milestone in a journey of my career. Had I not been selected then, I don´t know if I could perform nationally and internationally today.
I had bought a new pair of Chinese Adidas shoes before I flew to Germany but they tore when I was participating in an indoor training session and I had no spare shoes. I went to my coach and told him everything, to which he laughed and gave me a new pair of shoes. At the end, I was declared the best player in the tournament and was awarded a mountain bike. Many villagers flocked to my house to see my new mountain bike that I got from Germany as a prize (laughs).
My parents were never convinced that their son should spend his life as a footballer. But I knew that I could not separate myself from football. Eventually, they granted me permission.
Love is not my cup of tea. I had no affairs during my school days. But when I saw Reena, my wife now, for the first time in her shop which her family owned at Maharajgunj it was truly love at first sight. I felt I could spend my entire life with this girl. I had a lot of fans, mostly girls, from Dharan and Pokhara after I participated in the SAF Games held in Nepal in 1998. I knew that my fans liked my game and not me for who I was.
Reena used to study in class seven or eight, I am not quite sure, when I first saw her. I started to visit her shop quite frequently so I could talk to her. I was playing for Mahendra Police Cup, now Nepal Police Cup, and had shifted to Maharajgunj so that I could easily reach to Police Training Center at Maharajgunj.
After sometime, I took the phone number of her shop and started calling her. After gathering the much needed guts, I asked her out and I told her that I wanted to talk to her about something serious. Perhaps she knew my intention, so every time I asked her out, she would insist that I say it on the phone. As said in football you need to wait for ´right time, right position and right decision´ to score a goal. I, too, was waiting for that moment.
I finally decided to give her a card with my feelings on it and 14th February would be ´the´ day. My friend, Santosh, accompanied me to Reena´s shop and I handed her the card, which she accepted. I said that I was anxiously waiting for her reply. The following day, she invited me to her shop for the reply and the she handed me a card in front her mother.
She had accepted my proposal. We went to Osho Tapoban on our first date where she explained that she had discussed my proposal with her mom before replying. Her mother had asked her to accept it.
When I think about myself and ponder upon my achievement, I feel that I did not make any mistake in choosing football as my profession. I got everything that I wanted. I got almost all the national awards. I have name and fame which every player dreams of. All´s well and perfect!
As told to Bipulendra Adhikari
(Hari Khadka is Nepal´s national football team´s former striker and Nepal Police´s assistant coach.)
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