The other Thapa of Indian football
We are not aware of a lot of footballers who have done wonders during their playing days but are not much in the limelight after they end their careers. One such player is Avinash Thapa who was born in Kolkata and played most of his football there and at Goa. As a kid, Avinash was inspired by seeing his brother play and quickly fell in love with the beautiful game himself. He grew up to become a midfielder of repute but now is in the shadows. We have tried to shed some light on this former star’s football career. Samar Banerjee “Badru” an ex-Olympian and captain of the national team and a household name during his playing days in Kolkata was Avinash's first coach. Then he trained under Ranju Dutt (Ranju da) and started to play age-group matches. Though Ranju Dutt was not a well-known coach, the young boy learned a lot about how the game is played through him. Avinash quickly proved his mettle and was soon playing in the national tournaments. In 1998-99, he represented Bengal in the