Gangtok Himalayan Sporting Club (also known as Sikkim Himalayan) is an Indian professional football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. The club primarily plays in the SFA "A" Division S-League.
The club is also a frequent participant of the Sikkim Gold Cup, a premier club tournament in the state.
History Formation and journey Gangtok Himalayan FC (originally known as Sikkim Himalayan SC) was founded in 2012 in Tathangchen, Gangtok, the capital city of the Indian state Sikkim, and affiliated with Sikkim Football Association (SFA). Since then, they have been participating in various domestic and amateur tournaments regionally. The club was founded by Tenzing Lamtha. 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. In September 2015, former India international Arjunan Shanta Kumar was appointed as manager of the club.
In January 2016, they were officially certified by the All India Football Federation to participate in the I-League 2nd Division, 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. 2016 was the most successful season for Gangtok Himalayan, in which they participated in the I-League 2nd Division, Durand Cup, Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup and Sikkim Premier Division League. After finishing 2nd in the group A of the 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division, 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.
In 2016 Durand Cup, the Himalayans finished 5th, behind Indian Navy in the group A with 6 points. 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. In 2019, they reached to the final of 39th edition of the Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup final defeating Royal FC Siliguri 3–1, but lost the title winning match to Mohammedan Sporting by 2–1 margin. In that year, Gangtok Himalayan lifted Sikkim Independence Day Open Football Tournament trophy defeating Sikkim Aacraman FC via penalty shoot-out.
I-League fate 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.
2020–present 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. The club took part in the 2024 Sikkim Gold Cup. In that tournament, they defeated visiting Malaysian team Kelantan Darul Naim by 3–0 in the quarter-finals. The club later reached the final, but lost the title in penalty shoot-out (4–3) to NorthEast United.
Rivalry Gangtok Himalayan has a rivalry with their fellow Sikkim based club United Sikkim FC, whom they usually face in regional tournaments including Sikkim Premier Division League. 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.
Stadium
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. The club has also used the stadium for matches of regional tournaments like Sikkim Premier Division League. It was opened in 1943 and has artificial turf.
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors PeriodKit manufacturerShirt sponsor2015—2020VamosOrganic Sikkim
Past internationals 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) Tashi Samphel (2016–2018) Tashi Tsering (2009–2010) Tsering Dhundup (2007–2008) Pema Lhundup (2018–2019) Yogesh Gurung (2013–2014)Yogesh Gurung player info and statistics globalsportsarchive.com. Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 2 September 2021. Karma Tsewang (2015–2017) Stephen Harry (2017–2018)
Honours League Sikkim Premier Division League Champions (1): 2014 Runners-up (1): 2016, 2023
Cup Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup Runners-up (2): 2019, 2024 Sikkim Independence Day Championship Champions (1): 2019 Kohima Royal Gold Cup Champions (1): 1996 Darjeeling Gurkha Gold Cup Runners-up (1): 2012 Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial Gold Cup Runners-up (1): 2018 Bimal Ghosh Memorial Trophy Runners-up (1): 2019
Women's Sikkim Women's Football League Runners-up (1): 2026
Team records Wins against foreign teams
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:80%; width:95%; text-align:center" |- !width="12%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Competition !width="6%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Round !width="10%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Year !width="13%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Opposition !width="5%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Score !width="13%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Venue !width="7%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|City !width="7%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Ref |- |Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup |Quarter-final |2016 Manang Marshyangdi |style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;"|4–0 |align=left|Paljor Stadium |Gangtok
|Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup |Quarter-final |2024 Kelantan Darul Naim |style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;"|3–0 |align=left|Paljor Stadium |Gangtok
Other departments Youth football 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. The club took part in Hero Junior League.
Futsal Gangtok Himalayan has men's futsal section, that participated in tournaments like Chandmari Futsal Championship.
See also List of football clubs in India Northeast Derby (India)
Notes
References
Future reading
External links 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