Bhaichung with his fiancée. Picture by Atom Samarendra

Imphal, Aug. 22: There could not have been anything more up close and personal for a Bhaichung Bhutia fan than bumping into the darling of Indian football in a nondescript town of Manipur.

Calling timeout from the playground, the Indian football captain was at Lunghar in Manipur’s Ukhrul district along with his fiancée, Madhuri Tipnis, on a personal assignment. The duo came to meet Madhuri’s parents, Capt (retd) Ashok Tipnis and Ngam Tipnis. Madhuri’s mother belongs to the Tangkhul community.

The couple arrived in Imphal on August 18 and left for Ukhrul, 85 km from the state capital, after meeting Madhuri’s father at Chingmeirong. They left for Calcutta this afternoon, after spending four days at Lunghar, the native village of Madhuri’s mother.

Capt Tipnis, an Imphal-based social worker and chairman of Village Volunteer Development, an NGO, was involved in the release of Henry Wolfgang, the German national who has been abducted by militants a couple of months ago. Bhaichung, who was in the best of spirits during his stay here, said he and Madhuri, a hotel executive in the Mumbai-based ITC Group, have always tried to keep their careers and personal affairs apart.

Indian football’s pin-up star said he has been touched by the hospitality of the Manipuri people whenever he has visited the place. He also praised the Northeast for producing an assembly line of quality players.

The students of Patkai Christian Academy, Sangshak, had a close encounter with Baichung and Madhuri when the couple visited the institution for a few hours on Wednesday.

Sporting a pair of jeans and a white shirt, he demonstrated his football skills before an awe-struck audience and stressed the importance of sports in the curriculum.

However, none of his other fans here could meet the ace player. Most of them, in fact, were not aware of the visit.

Bhaichung said he would be heading for Malaysia for a two-month stint with Pereco FC, within next few days. AIFF have cleared his transfer for the same.