Subas Humagain, Muscat
Nepali National Football Team’s defender Ananta Tamang has signed for Indian Super League (ISL) outfit Sporting Club East Bengal. With this, Ananta has become the first Nepalese player to play in ISL.
Ananta has signed a short term deal until the end of the season. He will leave for India this week. The club had been eyeing the defender for a long time, but opted to sign a short term deal with defensive crisis looming at the club. With just four games left this season, East Bengal are second from bottom in the table.
Ananta picked up an injury last month while playing for Ruslan Three Star Club in the ongoing A Division League. He was busy in rehabilitation and missed friendlies against Mauritius due to the injury.
Ananta had previously trained at Marbella United in Spain. He began his professional career playing for Far-Western Football Club in the National League in 2015. He was the on field captain when Nepal won SAFF U-19 Championship in 2015. He also scored the winning penalty in Nepal’s final victory over India.
Ananta was an integral member of the 2016 Bangabandhu Gold Cup, 12th South Asian Games, and AFC Solidarity Cup 2016 winning squad. Ananta had a great performance in winning the gold at the 13th South Asian Games in 2019. He also started all matches for Nepal in last year’s SAFF Championship, where Nepal ended as runners up to India.
Ananta was released from Ruslan Three Star Club after the ISL club approached to sign him. The club let the player go for free to make the paperwork easier for the player.
