Nirajan Rayamajhi (; born 29 January 1980) is a Nepalese former professional footballer who played as a striker for the

Nepal national football team The Nepal national football team () represents Nepal in FIFA, International men's association football, football, and is governed by the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). A member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Nepali footba ...

and New Road Team (NRT). Rayamajhi is best known for his performance with the national team. He scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechan ...

for Nepal against

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in the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

qualification round. He retired from Nepal's national team in 2006.

Early life

Rayamajhi was born in Mulpani, Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. His uncle and brother played on the football grounds of Mulpani, and he used to accompany them as a child. He started to play inter-ward football and participated in local-level tournaments. His father worked in the municipality and had acquaintance with officers of Ranipokhari Corner team (RCT), which led him to join the club. He played with RCT for five years, in the Martyr's Memorial B-Division League. This led him to play in the

Martyr's Memorial A-Division League Martyr's Memorial A-Division League ( Nepali: शहीद स्मारक ए- डिभिजन लिग; formerly known as the Kathmandu League Championship) also known as the Qatar Airways Martyr's Memorial A-Division League for sponso ...

. He was the top scorer in the league, resulting in his selection for the national team.

National team

At age 21, he debuted for the national team. Despite losing to

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, he scored a consolation goal. He scored a hat-trick against Macau in the 2002 World Cup qualification round. He was in form until 2004 and was never benched. He became the top scorer for the national team.

Club life

Due to his strong performance with the national team, he got the chance to play for clubs including Friends Club and Three Star Club. Rayamajhi went to Germany to play and improve his technique. He learned that FIFA does not allow players of teams with low FIFA rankings to play in upper division leagues of high-profile nations. He joined the 4th division club Ornek and played for some years. Due to financial problems, he left football and started a job.

Return to national team

He returned to Nepal in 2005 and re-joined the Three Star Club. After a year, he was called up by the national team. At the same time, he joined NRT club. He couldn't regain form and finally retired from the national team after playing an international friendly against Palestine.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Nepal's goal tally first.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayamajhi, Nirajan Living people 1980 births Nepalese men's footballers Nepal men's international footballers Ranipokhari Corner Team players Men's association football forwards