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Indian Football Round-up: India U-23 fails to qualify for AFC U-23 Championship
Personal Information
| Date of Birth | January 15, 1998 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Role | Central Midfielder |
| Past Team(s) |
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Anirudh Thapa: A Brief Biography
Anirudh Thapa Biography
Anirudh Thapa is an Indian footballer who plays as the central midfielder for the national team and Chennaiyin FC.
The right-footed footballer occasionally plays in the right flank of the midfield. He was born on 15th January 1998 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
Considered as one of the brightest stars of Indian football, football fraternity will certainly rely on Thapa to bring the glory in the 2019 Asian Cup.
Background
At the age of eight, Thapa took up football as he played for his school, St. Joseph’s Academy.
The 10-year-old boy joined St. Stephen’s Football Academy in Chandigarh. He became the only Uttarakhand player to pave his way through the AIFF Elite Academy in Goa.
Thapa represented India at various age levels starting from the U-14 side. He was an integral part of victorious SAFF U-16 Championship side in September 2013.
He played well quite in the qualification round of the AFC U-16 Championship, even scored a goal against Lebanon. Thapa bagged two goals in the 2015 SAFF U-19 Championship.
He led AIFF Elite Academy to lift U-19 I-League in 2015-16. He netted four goals in the tournament including the opening strike in the final against TFA.
In November, a Chennaiyin FC picked took him as the replacement of injured Dhanachandra Singh for the final match of the 2016 ISL campaign against FC Goa and was handed over his professional debut.
Three minutes into the match, he earned the free-kick from which Jerry scored the first goal and almost netted once, but it was credited as own goal (OG).
Debut
After an impressive performance in the 2018 U-23 AFC Championship Qualification round, a national call was a matter of time for the youngster.
His maiden and only international appearance came against Myanmar in the Group A encounter of the 2019 Asian Cup Qualification in November 2016.
He arrived in the fore eight before time and displayed his spark.
Rise to Glory
Thapa uses his gravity intelligently to elude from his markers.
In ISL 2017, he showed immense maturity and sheer brilliance. His assist helped them to overturn a goal deficit to win by 2-1 against ATK.
The 20-year-old garnered praise for his great passing ability, brilliant footwork and amazing game awareness.
Club Career
On loan, Thapa played 14 matches for Minerva Punjab in the 2016-17 I-League campaign and scored the winner against Mumbai FC to register Minerva’s maiden I-League win.
In ISL, he was retained by Chennaiyin FC for 2017 and plays regularly in the heart of the midfield.
In April 2016, the talented midfielder was chosen to train with French Ligue Two side Metz for a short period, which was sponsored by his ISL side.
