Shillong, Dec 2: Ajay Thapa, who won the U-17 boys’ Subroto Cup title in 1978 with St Anthony’s Higher Secondary School, passed away recently.
Thapa, who was 62, died on 29th November and was cremated the following day. He was a resident of the Mawbah neighbourhood in Shillong.
A midfielder in his day, he was a contemporary of some of the stars of Meghalaya football from years gone by, such as Fullmoon Pyrtuh, Augustine Kharkongor, Tenzing Khyriem, L Darlong, Michael Wahlang and Atom Dey. Speaking after his death, Kharkongor praised his old Blue Max team mate’s football skills.
Thapa captained the St Anthony’s team that won the 1978 Subroto Cup, which was the first of Meghalaya’s four titles at the prestigious national tournament.
He then went on to play for Gorkha Association and Blue Max. He was also a feature of the Meghalaya state team in the Santosh Trophy and played for Shillong XI in the Bordoloi Trophy.
In 1989, he undertook a coaching course in Kolkata and went on to once again play for Gorkha Association, Nongthymmai and Sawmer, the latter which he also coached.
(File photo)
