| Nirajan Rayamajhi | |
| Fullname: | Nirajan Rayamajhi |
| Birth Date: | 29 January 1980 |
| Birth Place: | Kathmandu, Nepal |
| Position: | Striker |
| Nationalyears1: | 2002–2010 |
| Nationalteam1: | Nepal |
| Nationalcaps1: | 21 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 13 |
Nirajan Rayamajhi (Nepali: निराजन रायमाझी; born 29 January 1980) is a Nepalese former professional footballer who played as a striker for the Nepal national football team and New Road Team (NRT). Rayamajhi is best known for his performance with the national team. He scored a hat trick for Nepal against Macau in the 2002 World Cup qualification round. Rayamajhi is Nepal's top scorer of all time - along with Hari Khadka & Anjan Bista- each of them having scored 13 goals for Nepal. He retired from Nepal's national team in 2006.
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. He was the top scorer in the league, resulting in his selection for the national team.
At age 21, he debuted for the national team. Despite losing to Iraq, he scored a consolation goal. He scored a hat-trick against Macau in the 2002 World Cup qualification round.[1] He was in form until 2004 and was never benched. He became the top scorer for the national team.
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. [2] Due to financial problems, he left football and started a job.
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.
Scores and results list Nepal's goal tally first.[3]
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 February 2000 | Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium, Hawally, Kuwait | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification | ||||
| 2. | 14 April 2001 | Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad | 1–4 | 1–9 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 3. | 16 April 2001 | Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad | 1–0 | align=center rowspan=2 | 4–1 | ||||
| 4. | align=center | 3–1 | |||||||
| 5. | 23 April 2001 | 2–4 | 2–4 | ||||||
| 6. | 25 April 2001 | Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty | 1–0 | align=center rowspan=3 | 6–1 | ||||
| 7. | align=center | 2–0 | |||||||
| 8. | align=center | 4–1 | |||||||
| 9. | 13 January 2003 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka | align=center | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2003 SAFF Championship | |||
| 10. | 15 January 2003 | Bangbandhu Stadium, Dhaka | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2003 SAFF Championship | ||||
| 11. | 18 March 2003 | Dasharath Rangasala, Kathmandu | 1–0 | align=center rowspan=2 | 4–0 | 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification | |||
| 12. | align=center | 4–0 | |||||||
| 13. | 7 June 2008 | align=center | 2–0 | align=center | 4–1 | 2008 SAFF Championship |