Although Thapa officially took charge of the Nepali national football team only during the First SAFF Championship and in a few friendlies, he was always there behind the scenes, preparing the national team since its first participation in the Asian Games in 1982.[break]
Thapa, 67, was born in Gulmi but completed his school education from Dehradun in India, where he learnt the basic football lessons. He was senior to South Asian football legend Shyam Thapa in Dehradun and represented the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh during the All India School Games.
After finishing school, Thapa played club football in Nepal during the early 1970s, representing New Road Team (NRT), Thamel, Ranipokhari Corner Team (RCT) and Mahabir Club.
He was a member of the U-19 national team that participated in the U-19 Asian Championship held in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. Though only an age-group tournament, it was Nepal´s first official participation in football at the international level. Thapa also represented Nepal in the DCM Cup and the Aga Khan Gold Cup during that period.
Thapa worked for eight years at the Ministry of Education as a sports teacher and was actively involved in establishing the then school sports program called Birendra Shield. He joined the National Sports Council in 1980 to focus on football. He coordinated the first ever women´s football match -- a friendly between teams from Dharan and Pokhara -- in the country in 2039 BS.
He was in charge of the Nepali U-13 team during the Princes Cup in the mid 80s, mentoring the likes of Mani Shah, Birat Jung Shahi and Mrigendra Mishra who were part of the junior team then.
Thapa also coached other famous football stars such as late Rupak Raj Sharma, Ganesh Thapa, Krishna Thapa and Dhirendra Pradhan, earning him reputation as ´the tutor of tutors´ in Nepali football.
“Sports is for spreading universal brotherhood,” he said after receiving the award.
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