Baichung Bhutia

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Baichung Bhutia (born December 15, 1976 in Tinkitam) is a football player from India. He is known by his fans as the torchbearer of Indian Football in the international arena. He currently plays in India for Mohun Bagan.

[edit] Early life

Baichung (literally "Younger Brother") was born on December 15, 1976 to Dorji Dorma and Sonam Topden in Tinkitam, a sleepy hamlet in South Sikkim district, in the state of Sikkim. As indicated by his surname, he belongs to the Bhutia community.

[edit] Football career

He started his eduction is St. Xaviers School, Pakyoung, East Sikkim and eventually won a SAI Scholarship to attend the Tashi Namgyal Academy in Gangtok. He went on to play for several school and local clubs in his home state of Sikkim. A stellar performance at the 1992 Subroto Cup brought him to the notice of the football establishment.

In 1993, at the age of sixteen, he left school to join the professional East Bengal Club in Calcutta. In 1995, he moved to JCT Mills, Phagwara, which went on to win the India National Football League that year. Bhutia was a top scorer in the league, and was chosen to play in the Nehru Cup. He was named "1996 Indian Player of the Year", and has won numerous other awards.

In 1997 he returned to East Bengal, and became team captain in the 1998-99 season. In 1999 he travelled overseas to play for Bury F.C. after unsuccessful trials with both Fulham F.C. and Aston Villa F.C. with the move improving his conditioning and strategy. In 2002 he returned to India and played for the Mohun Bagan AC for a year before returning again to the East Bengal Club, and helping them to win the Asean Cup Club Championship. He also signed up to play for Perak, the Malaysian championship club, from August to October of 2003. For the season 06-07 he has again signed for Mohun Bagan AC. He signed an endorsement deal with Adidas India Marketing Pvt. Ltd in November of 2003. Currently he is endorsing Nike India.

Baichung Bhutia married his longtime girlfriend Madhuri Tipnis on December 27, 2004 in his native village of Tinkitam in South Sikkim. The Sikkimese government has built a stadium – the Baichung Stadium in Namchi, the district headquarters, in honour of Baichung. He is one of the most popular figures in the state and is considered as a role model to many Sikkimese and Indians, who have rarely attained national fame.