Sikkim Himalayan

Full name	Sikkim Himalayan Sporting Club[1]
Nickname(s)	The Himalayans[2]
Short name	GHSC SHSC
Founded	2012; 12 years ago (2012) (as Sikkim Himalayan SC)[3]
Ground	Paljor Stadium[4]
Capacity	30,000
Owner	Tenzing Lamtha
Head coach	Puspa Gurung
League	SFA A-Division S-League
Home colours Away colours

Gangtok Himalayan Sporting Club (also known as Sikkim Himalayan) is an Indian professional football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim.^[5] The club plays in the SFA "A" Division S-League.^[6][7][8]

The club is also a frequent participant of the Sikkim Gold Cup,^[9][10] a premier club tournament in the state.^[11]

Gangtok Himalayan FC (originally known as Sikkim Himalayan SC)^[12][13][14] was founded in 2012 in Gangtok,^[15] the capital city of the Indian state Sikkim, and affiliated with Sikkim Football Association (SFA).^[16][17][18] Since then, they have been participating in various domestic and amateur tournaments regionally.^[19] The club was founded by Tenzing Lamtha.^[20] 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.^[21][22][23] In September 2015, former India international Arjunan Shanta Kumar was appointed as manager of the club.^[24]

In January 2016, they were officially certified by the All India Football Federation to participate in the I-League 2nd Division,^[25] 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.^[26] 2016 was the most successful season for Gangtok Himalayan, in which they participated in the I-League 2nd Division, Durand Cup,^[27][28] Sikkim Gold Cup and Sikkim Premier Division League. 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 2019, they reached to the final of 39th edition of the Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup final defeating Royal FC Siliguri 3–1,^[33][34] but lost the title winning match to Mohammedan Sporting by 2–1 margin.^[35][36] In that year, Gangtok Himalayan lifted Independence Day Football Tournament trophy defeating Sikkim Aacraman FC via penalty shoot-out.

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.^[37]

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.^[38][39]

Gangtok Himalayan has a rivalry with their fellow Sikkim based club United Sikkim FC,^[40] whom they usually face in regional tournaments including Sikkim Premier Division League.^[41][42] 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.^[43]

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.^[44][45] The club has also used the stadium for matches of regional tournaments like Sikkim Premier Division League.^{[46][47][48][49]} It was opened in 1943 and has artificial turf.^[50][51]

• 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)^[53]
• Tashi Samphel (2016–2018)^[54]
• Tashi Tsering (2009–2010)^{[Note 1][55]}
• Tsering Dhundup (2007–2008)^[56]
• Pema Lhundup (2018–2019)^[57]
• Yogesh Gurung (2013–2014)^[58]
• Karma Tsewang (2015–2017)^{[Note 2][59]}
• Stephen Harry (2017–2018)^[60]

• Sikkim Premier Division League
  • Champions (1): 2014^[61]
  • Runners-up (1): 2016,^[62] 2023

• Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2019^[63][64]
• Independence Day Football Tournament
  • Champions (1): 2019^[65]
• Kohima Royal Gold Cup
  • Champions (1): 1996^[66]
• Darjeeling Gurkha Gold Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2012^[67]
• Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial Gold Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2018^[68]
• Bimal Ghosh Memorial Trophy
  • Runners-up (1): 2019^[69]

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.^[70]

Gangtok Himalayan has men's futsal section, that participated in tournaments like Chandmari Futsal Championship.^[71][72]

• List of football clubs in India
• Northeast Derby (India)

• Pradhan, Sujal (16 June 2023). "Sikkim Premier Division League 2023 to kick off on June 21st". indiatodayne.in. Gangtok: India Today North East. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023.
• "Rohit double helps DSK Shivajians overcome Gangtok Himalayan". The Times of India. PTI. 31 August 2016. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
• "Bhaichung Bhutia shuts down former I-League club United Sikkim". indianexpress.com. Gangtok: The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 22 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
• Bhattacharya, Nikhilesh (5 December 2012). "Not just about the money — Bhaichung Bhutia's United Sikkim FC faces challenges that test him as an administrator". LiveMint.com. Gangtok. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.

• Gangtok Himalayan SC on Facebook
• Team info at Global Sports Archive
• I-League 2nd Division pages: Gangtok FC at ArunFoot
• Gangtok Himalayan SC at Aiscore
• Gangtok Himalayan SC at Sofascore
• team profile at Football Critic