The 33-year old will be given an apartment in Mero City Housing located at Harishiddi, Lalitpur. The prize is given by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) on the basis of the players’ contribution to the national team, discipline and his performance last year.[break]
ANFA had annoucned to reaward the best player with an apartment last year. Earlier, ANFA had rewarded the best player with Toyota Yari cars. On the first occasion, former national team captain Upendraman Singh and Hari Khadka have been rewarded with the car. Shrestha now becomes the third Nepali player to be awarded with the most valuable individual player’s award in football fraternity.
According to a highly-placed ANFA source, the valuation of the apartment is Rs 2.5 million out of which ANFA will bear Rs 1.9 million and Mero City, the product of Royal Orchid Developers, will bear the remaining cost. The football governing body had selected Shrestha for the award a year ago.
Shrestha, who hails from Naxal, Kathmandu, is the only player to win 50 caps for the national team in official tournaments. He also holds the record for playing full time for highest 34 times in a row since his debut for the senior national team in 1998 during the 13th Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Shrestha began his career from the AFC U-16 qualifiers from Birgunj in 1997. Shrestha had always been the first choice and reliable defender for Nepal for 12 years following his appearance in the senior national team.
Shrestha got the armband of captain in 2007 for the first leg match against Oman in the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers and remained in the role until the seventh SAFF Championship 2007 held at Dhaka, Bangladesh.
As regards his last match for the national team, Shrestha played for the last minute against Afghanistan during the Seventh SAFF Championship held at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 2009.
Shrestha´s journey
1998 Bangkok, 13th Asian Games against Japan and India
1999 Goa, Second SAFF Championship
1999 Kathmandu, Eighth South Asian Games
2000 Kuwait, 12th Asian Cup Qualifiers
2001 Iraq, World Cup 2002 Qualifiers
2001 Kazakhstan, World Cup 2002 Qualifiers
2003 Dhaka, Third SAFF Championship
2003 Kathmandu, 13th Asian Cup Qualifiers
2003 South Korea, 13th Asia Cup Qualifiers (second round)
2003 Oman, 13th Asia Cup Qualifiers (second round)
2005 Karanchi, Fourth SAFF Championship
2007 Oman, World Cup 2010 Qualifiers
2007 Kathmandu, World Cup 2010 Qualifiers (second leg)
2008 Cambodia, AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers
2008 Pokhara, Friendly against Pakistan
2008 Male, Fifth SAFF Championship
2008 Hyderabad, AFC Challenge Cup, last round
2009 Kathmandu, AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers
2009 Kolkata
2009 Dhaka, Seventh SAFF Championship
Related story
‘Apartment culture’ flourishing in Pokhara
