Short biography of Baichung Bhutia

Indian footballer, Baichung Bhutia was born on December 15, 1976 in Tinkitam, Sikkim. He is considered to be the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is currently the captain of Indian team and plays for Mohun Bagan Club.

 He got his basic education at St. Xaviers School, Pakyong, East Sikkim. Since the very beginning he showed his serious interested towards the game of Football, and encouragement from his uncle Karma Bhutia helped him move forward towards his destiny. He went on to play for several school and local clubs in his home state of Sikkim.

 Due to his extra-ordinary capabilities in the game of Football, Bhutia got a scholarship from Tashi Namgyal Academy, a well known school in Gangtok at the age of 9.

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 the 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 since then.

Baichung Bhutia is probably the most famous and popular Football player India has ever produced. Also known as the “First Poster Boy of Indian Football”, Bhutia has contributed a lot to make the game popular among the young crowds of the nation even in the places where the game of Football has not been much popular.

In 1997 he returned to East Bengal, and became team captain in the 1998-99 seasons. Baichung Bhutia has the unique distinction of scoring the only hatrick in the Derby Clashes between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, when he registered the same in East Bengal's 4-1 triumph in 1997 Federation Cup Semi Final. . He continued to play for East Bengal till the end of 2005-2006 seasons. In 2006, he joined Mohun Bagan AC and has remained with them since then. He has recently renewed his contract for a further two years from 2008 to 2010 with the Mohun Bagan. He played in the Goal 4 Africa match held in the Allianz Arena, Munich on 12 July 2008 for the Edu team led by Clarence Seedorf and scored twice.He scored twice in the AFC Challenge Cup against Turkmenistan. He was also selected as the most valuable player of the tournament.

Bhutia has been honored with Indian Player of the Year award twice in the years 1995 and 2008. In the year 1999 he was bestowed upon the Sikkim State Award, and Arjuna Award. In the year 2008, he has been conferred upon the Padmashree Award.

Bhutia comes from a Buddhist Bhutia background but is, by conviction an atheist.

He married his longtime girlfriend Madhuri Tipnis on December 27, 2004 in his native village of Tinkitam in South Sikkim.