15 Facts About Anirudh Thapa

Anirudh Thapa was born on 15 January 1998 and is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin, which he captains, and the India national team.

Anirudh Thapa began playing football at the age of 10 at the St Stephen's Football Academy in Chandigarh.

Anirudh Thapa was named in the squad as a developmental player for the 2016 Indian Super League season.

In November 2016, due to the injury to Dhanachandra Singh, which ruled the midfielder out for the rest of the ISL season, Anirudh Thapa was put into the Chennaiyin squad as a replacement.

Anirudh Thapa made his professional debut for the team on 1 December 2016, in his side's final match of the season against Goa.

Anirudh Thapa almost scored his first goal but unfortunately it was given as an own goal.

Anirudh Thapa made his last appearance for the club on 23 April 2017, against East Bengal.

Anirudh Thapa finished the season with 1 goal while playing 14 matches, as the club finished second from bottom in the league, avoiding relegation to the I-League 2nd Division only by head-to-head points to Mumbai.

Anirudh Thapa returned to Chennaiyin on 31 May 2017, after his loan spell with Minerva Punjab.

Anirudh Thapa played 18 matches for the club in the ISL season, from which he started 12 of them.

Anirudh Thapa made 8 appearances for the club in the 2019 AFC Cup, scoring a deflected goal against Abahani on 30 April 2019, but Chennaiyin failed to qualify from the group stage.

Anirudh Thapa was the centre of their resurgence as he amassed 1 goal and 6 assists during the season.

Fortunately for the club, Anirudh Thapa returned to full training ahead of its Indian Super League match against NorthEast United on 13 December 2020.

Anirudh Thapa was part of the U16 side that won the 2013 SAFF U16 Championship and participated in the qualifiers for the AFC U16 Championship.

Anirudh Thapa then went on to represent the U19 side in the SAFF U19 Championship.