# Ananta Tamang

Ananta Tamang (Nepali: अनन्त तामाङ; born 14 January 1998) is a Nepalese professional footballer who plays as a defender for Nepal Super League club Church Boys United and the Nepal national team. He was vice-captain of Nepal under-19 football team which went on to win the 2015 SAFF U-19 Championship. Tamang made his senior national team debut on 31 August 2015 in a friendly against India.

## Club career
### Earlier career

In January 2017, Tamang earned a spot to train and be a part of Spanish club Marbella United's pre-season duties in 2015–16 season. He later joined the club in 2018 but shortly after, he got injured.
He later returned to Nepal and signed with Martyr's Memorial A-Division League side Three Star Club.

### East Bengal

On 10 February 2022, Tamang was roped in by Indian Super League club SC East Bengal. He joined the club as their sole AFC Quota replacing Australian defender Tomislav Mrcela. He made his debut for club on March 5, against Bengaluru FC in a 1–0 defeat, which was their final game of the season.

### Chitwan

On 6 March 2022, Tamang joined Nepal Super League outfit FC Chitwan.

### Nepal Super League
## International career
### U-16

Tamang represented Nepal at the 2014 AFC U-16 Championship, captaining his country in the first game against Uzbekistan in the absence of regular captain Bimal Gharti Magar. Tamang also scored a headed goal in a 1–4 defeat to North Korea, a game which eliminated Nepal from the tournament.

### U-19

Tamang played every minute of every game at the 2015 SAFF U-19 Championship as the host Nepal won the tournament. Tamang also played all three games at the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification but this time they were unsuccessful to qualify.

### U-23

Tamang represented Nepal during the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification but his country had a disastrous campaign, losing all four games and failing to score a single goal. Tamang himself had a particularly poor game against Iran where the last two goals of the match where the result of Tamang's poor headed clearances.

## Style of play

Tamang comes from traditional cloth. With excellent 1v1 skills, he relies heavily on tackles, last man challenges, and interceptions to get rid of the dangers. His ability to consistently be on track with opposition strikers till the last moment is the key attribute.

## Career statistics
### International goals

    Scores and results list Nepal's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 12 November 2016 | Sarawak State Stadium, Kuching, Malaysia | Laos | 2–1 | 2–2 (3–0 p) | 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup |
| 2. | 6 September 2018 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Bhutan | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2018 SAFF Championship |
| 3. | 22 March 2023 | Dasarath Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal | Laos | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2023 Prime Minister's Three Nations Cup |

## Honours
### Nepal U-16

* SAFF U-16 Championship runner-up: 2013

### Nepal U-19

* SAFF U-19 Championship: 2015

### Nepal U-23

* South Asian Games: 2016
* South Asian Games: 2019

### Nepal national team

* Bangabandhu Cup: 2016
* AFC Solidarity Cup: 2016

### Clubs
#### Church Boys United

* Martyr's Memorial A-Division League (1) :2023