Indian footballer
Pem Dorji was an
Indian former
footballer from
Sikkim who played as a
defender and represented the
India national football team in international tournaments including the
1984 Asian Cup .
[2] He also played for the major Calcutta clubs
Mohun Bagan ,
East Bengal ,
Mohammedan Sporting .
[3]
Early life and career
Born in 1959 in a small hamlet of Ben in
South Sikkim to parents Ganesh Kumari Gurung and Gyampu T Chingapa, Pem Dorji completed his education from Scottish University Mission Institute (SUMI) in
Kalimpong and later from Pelling Senior Secondary School in West
Sikkim .
[4]
[5] From his early childhood days, Dorji started playing football.
His passion for the game made him the part of the first Sikkimese football team which played at the National Championship at
Coimbatore in 1976. The game passaged his entry towards the world of football as a professional player. Dorji played predominantly as a defender and midfielder and scripted many memorable performances during a career which stretched almost for a decade.
Club career
Dorji started to play for the renowned football club of India,
Mohammedan Sporting Kolkata from 1980 and in 1982 in
Calcutta Football League and won the league in 1981.
Dorji dawn with colours for various clubs including
Mahendra Police Club of
Nepal ,
[6]
Kolkata -giants
East Bengal Club and
Mohun Bagan AC alongside
Food Corporation of India .
He was also an important part of the
Sikkim football team during their
Santosh Trophy campaigns.
Personal life
Dorji was married to Pushpa Yonzon and the couple have two children Zennyla Bhutia and Marco Bhutia.
[7]
Dorji died at a age of 42.
[8] He was battling with cancer for long. An incurable disease took his last breath in a nursing home in
Calcutta , on 18 October 2001.
International career
He became the first
Sikkimese to captain the
India national football team in the Pre-Olympic tournament held in
Malaysia . Gradually, Dorji represented India in various International matches. He played at the
Chinese Great Wall Cup in 1984,
[9] and won the prestigious medal for the country.
He later represented India at the
South Asian Football Federation Games and further played the famous
AFC Asian Cup at
Abu Dhabi ,
United Arab Emirates in 1988. Dorji represented India in the
Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Cup in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987,
[10] and 1988 alongside
Bangladesh President's Gold Cup at
Dhaka in 1983, 1984 and 1987.
[11]
[12]
Honours
Mohammedan Sporting
Individual
See also
References
^
"PEM DORJI PASSES AWAY" . The Telegraph . 18 October 2001.
Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021 .
^ Tamang, Yougan (28 May 2017).
"Recalling Sikkim's legendary football player Late Pem Dorji who captained India for a brief time" . thenortheasttoday.com . The Northeast Today. Archived from
the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021 .
^
"Player profile – Career – Current club: Pem Dorji" . www.playmakerstats.com (in Portuguese). Playmaker Stats. Archived from
the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022 .
^
Latey Bhakundo: 2011
Archived 7 September 2021 at the
Wayback Machine . lateybhakundo.blogspot.com . Retrieved 7 September 2021.
^ Chatterjee, Sayan (22 January 2021).
"Meet the man who inspired Bhaichung Bhutia to take up football" . thebridge.in . The Bridge. Archived from
the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021 .
^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (1 September 2001).
"Indian Football Hall of Fame: Pem Dorji" . indianfootball.de . Archived from
the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021 .
^
"Pem Dorji, the star who shone bright but left us too early" . www.summittimes.com . The Summit Times. 25 March 2018. Archived from
the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021 .
^
"Pem Dorji passes away" . sports.ndtv.com .
NDTV . 25 February 2007. Archived from
the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021 .
^ Lewis, Tom; Morrison, Neil.
"The Great Wall Cup China 1984" .
RSSSF .
Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2021 . {{
cite web }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link )
^ Morrison, Neil.
"Nehru Cup (Kozhikode (Calicut)) 1987" .
RSSSF .
Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2022 .
^
"President's Gold Cup" .
RSSSF .
Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2019 .
^ Hughson, John; Moore, Kevin; Spaaij, Ramón; Maguire, Joseph (4 October 2016).
Routledge Handbook of Football Studies . Taylor & Francis.
ISBN
9781135074821 .
Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2021 .
^
"Mohammedan Sporting Club Adds a Gloomy 'First' to Its Glittering Past" . sports.ndtv.com .
NDTV . 20 October 2014.
Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021 .
^
"ব্রিটিশকে হারিয়ে ডুরান্ড জয়ী, পাকিস্তানকেও গোল দিয়ে চিরকালীন নজির মহামেডানের" . ekolkata24.com (in Bengali). 1 September 2021. Archived from
the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022 .
^ Sengupta, Somnath (8 March 2011).
"The Glorious History Of IFA Shield" . Thehardtackle.com .
Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021 .
^
"Sikkim govt awards Rolls of Honour" . zeenews.india.com .
Zee News . 27 January 2002. Archived from
the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022 .
Bibliography
Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football . Penguin Random House.
ISBN
978-0-143-42641-7 .
Martinez, Dolores; Mukharjiim, Projit B (2009).
Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football .
Routledge .
ISBN
978-1-138-88353-6 . Archived from
the original on 2 July 2022.
Nath, Nirmal (2011).
History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10 . Readers Service.
ISBN
9788187891963 . Archived from
the original on 22 July 2022.
Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001).
Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora .
London , United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers.
ISBN
978-0-7146-8170-2 . Archived from
the original on 25 July 2022.
Majumdar, Boria; Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (2006).
A Social History Of Indian Football: Striving To Score .
Routledge .
ISBN
9780415348355 . Archived from
the original on 29 June 2021.
Basu, Jaydeep (2003).
Stories from Indian Football . UBS Publishers' Distributors.
ISBN
9788174764546 . Archived from
the original on 11 October 2022.
External links