Kathmandu. In the 1990s, the Brazilian player Ronaldo impacted world football. He was widely discussed even in the corners of Ilam. Ronaldo seemed to be the best player in world football and the god of football.

Such anecdotes from senior brothers in the village unknowingly made Nawayug Shrestha a fan of Ronaldo. He started studying Ronaldo by watching it on television. The children’s friends said, ‘Your game is exactly like Ronaldo’s.’ After that, what did 7/8-year-old Nawayug want? ‘Ronaldo’s love started growing in his heart.

In the late 1990s, Brazil’s Ronaldo and France’s Zinedine Zidane were very popular. It was determined who would be the best among the two players. This is when Nawayug also started watching and learning football. He was more influenced by Ronaldo, who played the killer role in the opposition post, than Zidane, the midfield magician. This is why Nawayug started playing the role of striker.

In 1999, Nawayug was just eight years old when the 8th South Asian Federation Games (then SAF, now SAG) was held in Nepal. At home, he watched all the football matches under the 8th SAFF on TV. Nepal lost to Bangladesh in the final. In the new age, the same competition raised the dream of becoming a national football player.

Ilam Deumai 4 (previously Mangalbare 1), there was a good football atmosphere in the Nawayug family on Wednesday. Father and uncles used to play football. Father Chandra Keshar was a district-level player. After riding the ‘ghost’ of becoming a player, he focused his efforts and passion on it.

In 2060, he was selected from the district-level competition and joined Ilam’s U-14 team, which won the national-level DDC Cup. He was a key player when Ilam defended its DDC Cup title the following year.

After watching the DDC Cup match, ANFA chose two players from Ilam, but Nawayug did not hesitate. As a child, he started playing in the Triveni Youth Club of Nawayug village, wearing jersey number 10. He also played in various competitions with Ilam’s district-level team.

After hearing that the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) would select players under 16, Nawayug rushed to Kathmandu that same year. But the selection was cancelled. He did not want to return to the district. As he became interested, he got to practice in the APF Club of the Armed Police Force. After about a month and a half, Dhirendra Pradhan (former general secretary of ANFA) said, “Now we have to play C Division,” so he went to Tokha Club.

Pradhan took the Himalayan Sherpa Club to play the ‘B’ division without training there for a week. Even though he joined Sherpa, Nawayug did not get a chance to play. Although he taught for about one and a half months, he spent most of the time on the bench. Himalayan Sherpa moved up to the ‘A’ division. He returned home. Now, his campaign to become a footballer was like a dream. 2065 he was recruited after learning that the army selection was open in Dhankuta.
A letter from Tribhuvan Army Club saying ‘if there are any good players, they will be sent for trials’ has reached Dhankuta. At that time, Nawayug had already shown his skills in the inter-platoon and regiment competition. As soon as the training was over, he came to Kathmandu. Nawayug caught the eye of the then-army coach, Dambarsingh Gurung. I got selected for the club and got a chance to play.

Striker Nawayug made his debut in Army Club from midfield. Nawayug got his place because Santosh was on a Nepali peacekeeping mission. After Santosh’s return, another midfielder, Raju Tamang, went to Shanti Sena and became a constant first-choice player for Nawayug Army Club. But he had to wait two years to play as a striker.

In the meantime, he had already proved it. He became the top scorer in the National League in 2068 and 2072. Despite scoring the most goals in the league, Nawayug did not get an opportunity to play for the national team. After a long wait, he was selected for the national team in August 2015.

The goal of Nawayug, considering Hari Khadka as an idol in Nepali football, was to become a national player and a famous striker like Hari Khadka. Who could score a goal in the opponent’s post by wearing the national jersey and making Nepal raise their hands together?

Nawayug got a chance to make his ‘debut’ from the national team in a friendly match against India on August 15, 2072. Nepal played that match in Pune while preparing for the SAFF Championship. Nawayug entered the field, replacing Jagjit Shrestha in the second half. Four months later, in the SAFF Championship held in Kerala, India, Nepal was eliminated from the group stage, but the goal drought in 11 consecutive matches was broken.
In the match against India, Bimal Ghartimagar scored a goal on the rebound after the ball hit by Nawayug hit the pole and came back. Despite playing regularly for the national team, Nawayug could not score a goal.

He could not hit the net even in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup group stage in Bangladesh that year. It was increasing the pressure on him. Nepal was under increasing pressure when they played against Maldives in the semi-final. It started to be advised to change the Nawayug, which could not score goals. That’s when Nawayug scored a goal. The game was in the 31st minute. Nepal took the lead. Cut two more goals in the second half. He had a rare chance to score a hat-trick when he opened his account. He became the fifth player to score a hat-trick for Nepal.

Nepal won the title of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup. Not only did Nawayug become the top scorer of the tournament, he also won the best player award. After that, his discussion started suddenly. Nepali football declined due to the suspension of 5 players, including the national team captain, on match-fixing charges and the exit of Ganesh Thapa, who led ANFA for 20 years.

There was widespread criticism and anger towards Nepali football. In such a background, the Nawayug team became the champion in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup. Less than a month later, Nepal won the gold in the 12th Saag held in Guwahati, India. Nawayug scored the most seven goals.
In the same year, Nepal also won the Solidarity Cup by defeating Brunei. This brought the new era to the peak of discussion. A new chapter has begun in Nepali football.

Nawayug also started receiving awards and honours. He got a promotion in the Nepali army. He brought a new era to Nepali football for two years. The story behind his name is also enjoyable. Born on June 25, 2047, Nawayug was named by his Aja (grandfather) Ram Narayan. At that time, the multi-party system had just been restored.
Ram Narayan named his grandson ‘Nawayug’ as he was born when the country’s politics started moving in a new direction. Ram Narayan did not get to see the new era that his grandson brought to Nepali football. He lost his eyes forever in 2069.
Nawayug was a regular member of the Nepali national team until the 2018 SAFF Championship. He was out of the team for some time due to injury. After missing the first leg of the World Cup qualifiers, he returned to the team in the second leg against Kuwait.
Last year, Nawayug was given the captaincy responsibility for the preparations for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Due to the dispute between the coach Abdullah Almutairi and the players, regular captain Kiran Chemjong was not included in the team and became the new captain.

He has scored eight international goals while completing the milestone of 50 matches for the national team. He has also scored two goals in 3 games that are not on the official FIFA list. The last time Nawayug scored a goal against Laos was in the Three Nations Cup the previous year.