Day that the Himalayan Tigers surfed on Granville Tsunami!!!!!!

Who said you could not dwell in the past? The Himalayan Tigers are still enjoying sweet revenge with their victory over Granville Tsunami 3-2 while the raging Tsunami is receding back to normality. The culmination of success takes us back to our history of our good old reminiscences of mateship, collaboration, and positive conflicts. Let me take all of you back to our journey to success.

The founding members- Nabin BK, Pabi Subba, Bikash Limbu, Kamal Tiwari and I had to unlock the romance and mystery of soccer. We all understood the personal relationship that people could have with soccer, and its social aspect. Our idea was to give us a little escape during the morning or perhaps to have a refuge for some time to stabilise the continuity of the hustle and bustle of our lives. It was the essence of ourselves-getting out there, kicking the ball and having fun, and also reducing our body mass index. We were not only becoming healthier but also trying to become a lighter footprint upon the earth.

We originally started as “high five” and but now there are about twenty of us. That is pretty awesome. It is sort of a multiplier effect. As the number has increased we moved into the next level- creating a new iden***y in a democratic way and a team name to enter into a game. Deb Gurung’s creativity and ingenuity gave birth to the team name-the evolution of Himalayan Tigers and every one of us embraced it unanimously.

The Himalayan Tigers are appreciative of Lal’s sheer commitment in organising team jerseys and other sporting merchandise. His killer’s conviction and full intent to deliver his promises has exceeded our expectations in no time. The support and sponsorship from Nepal Journeys, our guiding star and the organiser, Gurkha Nepalese Community Inc (GNC), show that they are getting behind the community. Their support demonstrates their commitments to putting our community first and emphasises their focus on our people and our community.

Looking at the match invitation between the Himalayan Tigers and the Granville Tsunami, the Himalayan Tigers took a final panoramic and panoptic view of the Tsunami from the Himalayas. They then descended down the slope with prowls and growls to the match ground at Lid Com Bay (Lidcombe), DownUnder. Much to the talented Tigers’ astonishment, there were no bays at Lidcombe, as they were hoping to have a stroll around the bay before the match.

The Granville Tsunami cannot be prevented or precisely predicted - even if the right magnitude of an earthquake occurs in the right location. However the effects of the Tsunami may be mitigated by the presence of the legendary Himalayan Tigers! They can absorb the Tsunami’s energy by swallowing the deluge and transferring it to the Himalayan Dam and so defuse the load-shedding in Nepal. It is really ironic that Nepal is so rich in natural waters but it is also in dire need of electricity. Is this a paradox of the orthodox?

We all know the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history, having killed thousands of people in eleven countries and inundating many coastal communities. So it was really déjà vu for our heroic Himalayan Tigers. They were concerned with human welfare and so had a good reason to meet and overcome the devastation that the Granville Tsunami could have caused.

The match was scheduled on 22nd March 2009 at 11.30 am sharp. The Himalayan Tigers who were leading an idyllic existence in the Himalayan retreat must have lost in translation of time zone. Instead of turning up on the ground at 11.30 am they spo***cally turned up at 12.00 pm. The opponents’ presence at 11.30 am sharp surely outnumbered and dominated the presence of two Himalayan Tigers, Dip Bantawa and myself on the field. Nandu Gurung and Shamsher Thapa from Granville Tsunami had no hesitation in showing their over-confidence when they asked us how many goals we were willing to suc***b to.

We really respected the Granville Tsunami as a team but we certainly did not hold any fear about them.

On the day I saw that same spirit of unity alive on the fields and sidelines with our supporting and cheering Himalayan Tigresses.

We're very fortunate to have a central indefatigable defender with leadership qualities. It's no secret that role was adequately filled by Gobin Gurung so that the effect of Granville Tsunami shockwaves was neutralised to counter attack. How can we forget about the superb goal keeping skills and omnipresence around the goal post manifested by Om Gurung?

The Himalayan Tigers scored all of their goals in an incredible first half with Ashok Rai scoring one and Pabi Subba scoring one. While in the second half Goba Katuwal and Jitman Limbu from Granville Tsunami scored one each so putting the two teams on tied scoresheet. The Tsunami’s volley over terra nullius, no man’s land was maximised by Goba Katuwal’s heading score, while Jitman Limbu’s agility and pace which scored another goal. Both of them showed typical characteristics of a tsunami. This made the Himalayan Tigers reconsider their strategy and change the game plan seriously and swiftly.

But the unstoppable Himalayan Tiger – Bhala Rai was the saviour of the game scoring one goal in an immaculate style so putting the Himalayan Tigers one goal ahead of the Tsunami and enchanting spectators with his style and sophistication.

The Granville Tsunami team looked devoid of any ideas of how to defend the Himalayan Tigers’ leads and leaps in heaps. They were beginning to discover what it was like to be on the wrong end of a drubbing and the effect of psychological conundrums and pandemonium caused by the Himalayan Tigers on the arena.

The pain of defeat remains raw, even today. Nandu Gurung, who is a die-hard Granville Tsunami player, declined to be interviewed for this story.

Granville Tsunami failed spectacularly and had a great time doing it.

Let us face it; the Himalayan Tigers had definitely shown the spectators and Tigresses how to surf on the Tsunami on 22nd March 2009. History was created but also let’s not forget to reinforce and recapitulate at the end of the day; soccer is truly the world's sport! It promotes camaraderie and friendly compe***ion across the community and the globe.

The Himalayan Tigers are looking forward to meeting the Granville Tsunami and other compe***ors next year in 2010.

By Shivaji (The writer Shivaji is also known as CBG or Chandra B Gurung and is a right defender of Himalayan Tigers)