Nepali football ended a 22-year trophy drought by clinching the Saff Under-19 Championship here on Saturday and young prodigy Bimal Gharti Magar has been instrumental in this historic achievement.

The 17-year-old U-19 skipper from Nawalparasi, who is also capped seven times for the senior national team, led his side to the triumphant run to the trophy, establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with by scoring a hat-trick in the tournament opener against Bhutan. Although he failed to score in the next three matches, his menacing presence, electrifying dribbling skills and accuracy has been pivotal in Nepal's title triumph.

Gharti Magar first stole limelight during the AFC U-14 Festival off Football in May 2012 when he struck eight goals including a hat-trick against Sri Lanka. His mesmerizing skills forced the football authority to call the 14-year old to the senior national for a friendly international on September 20 against Bangladesh.

The teenager then got a remarkable opportunity to train with the Dutch club FC Twente youth teams for two weeks in 2013. He was also called for a trial at the Belgian outfit Anderlecht's U-16 squad in March 2014. His performance in Anderlecht saw the club offer the strike a one-year deal to join their Under-19 squad.

He was then called by another Belgium club Genk for a two-month trial in January this year and currently he is undergoing trail-cum training at another Belgium outfit Club Brugge.

The forward has scored one goal in his seven senior team appearance, while also scoring four goals in the U-19 and nine in the U-14 national teams.