Padma Shri
Baichung Bhutia
Padma Shri
Baichung Bhutia
Undoubtedly the best football player from India. Bhutia became the first ever Indian footballer to sign a professional contract with a club in Europe, when he was transferred from East Bengal Club, Kolkatta to second Division club Bury FC (greater Manchester area) in 1999. After the 2001/02 season Baichung Bhutia decided to return to India.
At nine, he won an 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 the Bury Football Club in Manchester, England, improving his conditioning and strategy. In 2002 he returned to India and played for the Mohun Bagan FC 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 FC, the Malaysian championship club, from August to October of 2003. He signed an endorsement deal with Adidas India Marketing Pvt. Ltd in November of 2003.
Baichung Bhutia married his long time 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 & Indians, who have rarely attained national fame in football.
He is known by his fans as the torchbearer of Indian Football in the international arena. He was convinced to come out of retirement in august 2006 to play as India's captain in the AFC qualifiers.
PIFA salutes him for bringing Indian football to the Europeans. And opening a window for future budding talented Indian football players to dream play international football.
2008 : Indian Captain Bhaichung Bhutia has been conferred with Padam Shri by the Government of India on the eve of 59th Republic Day in recognition of his distinguished Football career and service to the game in India. Bhaichung is known by his fans as a torch bearer of Indian Football. A Role Footballer for many of the youth in the country ,Bhaichung Bhutia is a household name in India and every youngsters’ dream is to emulate the feats and accomplishments of this ace Footballer.
Winner of Arjuna Award in 1998 ,Bhaichung ,led India successfully to India’s maiden Title win with his three goals in five matches in the recently concluded ONGC Nehru Cup Football Championship 2007.
Bhaichung Bhutia is the fifth Footballer of the country to be conferred with Padam Shri after Gostho Behari Paul in 1962, Sailen Manna 1971,Chuni Goswami in 1983 & PK Banerjee in 1990.
A meeting with
Baichung Bhutia
PIFA were very fortunate to have Baichung Bhutia grace a parents- students meeting at NSCI on 21 April 2006. Parents & children asked him a lot of questions and Baichung was more than pleased to answer them.
It was an honour to have Baichung grace our function. He may be in the news for not performing that is because it is note worthy & sensational. Baichung rarely disappoints his fans on or off the field. A number of years from now, Baichung will be known as the Bobby Charlton of India. He stands for Indian football everything that was right & honest, and influences the way the game is being played. We only wish we had 11 of him.
Here is a brief of the Q & A :
Q ) What does it take for a parent to make their child a Baicung Bhutia ?
A) Children should be encouraged to play sports, they should be taught to be dedicated and have good eating & drinking habits. A good diet the night before practise and lots of fluids between and after training.
Q) What do you feel about Indian ground conditions, why are they not improving ?
A) The grounds are bad. And that affects the way we play. We are unable to display our true potential. There has been a time when I refused to play, when the ground was appalling. It is for the federation to maintain the grounds and as a player we do not have much say. The federation should understand that bad ground lead to poor display, bad match practise and above all injuries, which is not good for the sport.
Q) What do you think about the step motherly treatment that India gives for other sports other than cricket ?
He does not think that cricket is getting preferential treatment. It is for the federation to learn from the cricketing bodies and to emulate them to bring up football, it can be done.
Q) Who is your favourite player & which club do you support ?
A) He has a number of favourite players Theiry Henry, Ronaldino, etc and clubs Arsenal & Barcelona. He hopes that an Asian nation does well in the World Cup.
Q) What do you feel about the coaches in India ?
A) The coaches need to encourage the children to play, let them have fun. That is when the children will learn the most.
Q) What do feel about the Bobby Charlton academy ?
A) He had heard about it in Delhi when it was mentioned to him by some talented children who had been to the camp. All football training is good and foreign exposure is it a nice experience, to know what the methods of training are like.
Q) What other sport did you do that helped your football as a child ?
A) He did gymnastics that has helped him in making his body more flexible. Other sports are also good as long as they keep the child happy.