Full name | Sikkim Himalayan Sporting Club [1] | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Himalayans [2] | ||
Short name | GHSC SHSC | ||
Founded | 2012 | (as Sikkim Himalayan SC)||
Ground | Paljor Stadium | ||
Capacity | 30,000 | ||
Owner | Tenzing Lamtha | ||
League | SFA A-Division S-League | ||
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|
2015—2020 | Vamos [63] | Organic Sikkim |
Competition | Round | Year | Opposition | Score | Venue | City | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup | Quarter-final | 2016 | ![]() | 4–0 | Paljor Stadium | Gangtok | [81] |
Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup | Quarter-final | 2024 | ![]() | 3–0 | Paljor Stadium | Gangtok | [47] |
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]
Gangtok Himalayan has men's futsal section, that participated in tournaments like Chandmari Futsal Championship. [84] [85]
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