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Gangtok Himalayan SC
Association football club in Sikkim, India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gangtok Himalayan Sporting Club (also known as Sikkim Himalayan) is an Indian professional football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim.[3] The club plays in the SFA "A" Division S-League.[4][5][6]
The club is also a frequent participant of the Sikkim Gold Cup,[7][8] a premier club tournament in the state.[9]
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History
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Formation and journey
Gangtok Himalayan FC (originally known as Sikkim Himalayan SC)[10][11][12] was founded in 2012 in Gangtok,[13] the capital city of the Indian state Sikkim, and affiliated with Sikkim Football Association (SFA).[14][15][16] Since then, they have been participating in various domestic and amateur tournaments regionally.[17] The club was founded by Tenzing Lamtha.[18] In October 2014, Gangtok Himalayan participated in Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup and reached to the semi-finals, but their journey ended with a 2–1 defeat to ONGC FC.[19][20][21] In September 2015, former India international Arjunan Shanta Kumar was appointed as manager of the club.[22]
In January 2016, they were officially certified by the All India Football Federation to participate in the I-League 2nd Division,[23] the second tier of football in India, after finishing 2nd in the Sikkim Premier Division League. This move began a new chapter for Gangtok-based side as they became one of first professional football clubs from the North East India.[24] 2016 was the most successful season for Gangtok Himalayan, in which they participated in the I-League 2nd Division, Durand Cup,[25][26] Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup and Sikkim Premier Division League.[27][28] After finishing 2nd in the group A of the 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division,[29] Gangtok Himalayan qualified for the 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division final round. There they finished as 5th and failed to qualify for the I-League.[30]
In 2016 Durand Cup, the Himalayans finished 5th, behind Indian Navy in the group A with 6 points.[31][32] In 2016, the club took part in Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup, in which they reached quarter-finals defeating Nepali outfit Manang Marshyangdi 4–0.[33] In 2019, they reached to the final of 39th edition of the Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup final defeating Royal FC Siliguri 3–1,[34][35] but lost the title winning match to Mohammedan Sporting by 2–1 margin.[36][37] In that year, Gangtok Himalayan lifted Sikkim Independence Day Open Football Tournament trophy defeating Sikkim Aacraman FC via penalty shoot-out.[38]
I-League fate
The All India Football Federation were all set to invite bids for vacant spots in the I-League and Gangtok-based Sikkim Himalayan was one of the front-runners to join, but it was not materialized.[39]
2020–present
In 2020, Gangtok Himalayan went to Nepal for participating in the 18th Aaha! Rara Gold Cup, but their journey ended after a 3–0 defeat to Three Star Club in quarter-finals.[40][41] In November 2024, the club took part in the 2024 edition of Sikkim Gold Cup.[42][43][44] In that tournament, they defeated visiting Malaysian team Kelantan Darul Naim by 3–0 in the quarter-finals.[45][46][47] The club later reached the final, but lost the title in penalty shoot-out with the margin of 0–0 (4–3) to NorthEast United.[48][49]
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Rivalry
Gangtok Himalayan has a rivalry with their fellow Sikkim based club United Sikkim FC,[50] whom they usually face in regional tournaments including Sikkim Premier Division League.[51][52] The rivalry is commonly referred to as "Sikkim Derby". Both the clubs mostly use Paljor Stadium as their home ground. One of their most memorable matches was on 9 November 2019 during Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup, and Gangtok Himalayan won by 3–1.[53]
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Stadium
For I-League 2nd Division, the club announced that they would play their home matches at the 30,000 seater Paljor Stadium in the capital of Sikkim, Gangtok.[54][55][56] The club has also used the stadium for matches of regional tournaments like Sikkim Premier Division League.[57][58][59][60] It was opened in 1943 and has artificial turf.[61][62]
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Past internationals
- The players below had senior or age-level international cap(s) for their respective countries or autonomous regions. Players whose name is listed, represented their countries before or after playing for Gangtok Himalayan SC.
Palsang Lama (2013–2015)[64]
Tashi Samphel (2016–2018)[65]- Tashi Tsering (2009–2010)[Note 1][66]
- Tsering Dhundup (2007–2008)[67]
- Pema Lhundup (2018–2019)[68]
- Yogesh Gurung (2013–2014)[69]
- Karma Tsewang (2015–2017)[Note 2][70]
Stephen Harry (2017–2018)[71]
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Honours
League
Cup
- Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup
- Sikkim Independence Day Championship
- Kohima Royal Gold Cup
- Champions (1): 1996[77]
- Darjeeling Gurkha Gold Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2012[78]
- Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial Gold Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2018[79]
- Bimal Ghosh Memorial Trophy
- Runners-up (1): 2019[80]
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Team records
Wins against foreign teams
Other departments
Youth football
The club has been operating various youth men's teams for regional tournaments. In 2013, their U-14 team took part in Snow Lion Cup, hosted by United Sikkim.[82] The club took part in Hero Junior League.[83]
Futsal
Gangtok Himalayan has men's futsal section, that participated in tournaments like Chandmari Futsal Championship.[84][85]
See also
Notes
- ^ Besides Nepal national football team, Tashi Tsering also represented Tibet national football team in non-FIFA international matches.
- ^ Karma Tsewang is an Indian-born footballer, who represents Tibet national football team in non-FIFA international matches.
References
Future reading
External links
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