Vivek Thapa Trains Badminton Players in Bangalore

Mahendranagar. Vivek Thapa (Bikki), who worked as a volunteer coach for badminton for seven years at the covered hall in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur, is currently engaged in training in Bangalore, Karnataka state, India.

Thapa, who obtained coaching qualifications by completing NIS training from the National Sports Council, has been providing badminton training in Bangalore for the past ten years. Thapa, who produced players from Kanchanpur to international level while in Nepal, has also produced state-level championship-winning players in Bangalore.

Thapa, who reached Bangalore in 2017 and started working as a badminton coach at the Whitefield Sports Center, has recently become a well-known coach in the Whitefield area of Bangalore. Mahita Naidu, a female player from Bangalore produced by Thapa at the Sports Center, is now the champion in U-15 badminton in Karnataka state. Naidu was also the state champion in U-13. Currently, he is providing training to more than 150 players. Player Naidu is the singles and doubles champion of Karnataka.

While working as a coach in Mahendranagar, Thapa produced more than a dozen players from here, including Dipesh Dhami, Chiranjibi Bisht, Megha Chand, Ranjana Bhatta, and Puran Bhandari. Some of these players have already participated in international level competitions. Some of the players he produced are still playing national competitions.

"More than 10 players whom I coached in Nepal have already participated in international level competitions," said coach Thapa, adding, "Currently, players up to the state level are being produced in Bangalore with the hard work put in."

While in Nepal, Thapa made considerable efforts to become a contract coach. He approached various bodies for this. When no skill worked, he migrated to India. "I wanted to produce players in my own country even with a low salary, but I couldn't get that opportunity," said coach Thapa. He is currently earning more than Rs 150,000 per month producing players in India.

Coach Thapa has employed former Nepali players Gokul Jora, Nikhil Bhatta, Saurabh Bam, Pratik Chand, and Jitendra Sharma as coaches at the sports center where he works. "I teach badminton at the sports center as well as in apartments," said coach Thapa. He reached Bangalore through Uttam Sinkhada, a badminton coach from Biratnagar. Thapa worked as a volunteer coach for three months during the Sixth National Sports Competition in Mahendranagar. This was his only opportunity in his home country.