Nepal volleyball's influential player Bharat Shah retires

Bharat Shah (Left) former national skipper receives letter of felicitation from Madhav Prasad Ghimire (Right) Home Minister of Nepal after announcing retirement from International and Domestic Volleyball

Nepal influential former volleyball captain Bharat Shah has called it a day. The 45-year-old former captain of the national team has retired from all domestic and international volleyball and has said that he will now be pursuing career in coaching.

Bharat Shah made his debut for the Nepal national volleyball team in the 1995 South Asian Games (SAG) which was held at Madras, India. Bharat Shah was made skipper of the team for the first time in 1999 at the 8th South Asian Games (SAG) held at Kathmandu, Nepal. He was the skipper of the team in 10 different international tournaments.

Shah captained the team for the last time at the 2010 SAG at Dhaka, Bangladesh. Before retiring, he was the skipper of the Nepal Police Club, which is one of the most successful volleyball clubs in Nepal. He won numerous domestic titles with Nepal Police Club.

At present, Shah holds the coaching and refereeing licences from the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB). He also played and represented Nepal in beach volleyball, and notably, he was a player in the Nepal team that won the South Asian Invitational Beach Volleyball title in 2005 and 2007. In 2007, he was declared the best player in the South Asian Invitational Beach Volleyball tournament.

Shah is considered as a role model for the young volleyball players in Nepal. He is a volleyball icon and his experience will be helpful for the development and promotion of volleyball in Nepal.