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Baichung Bhutia (born December 15, 1976 in
Tinkitam) is a football (soccer)|football player
from India.  He is known by his fans as the
torchbearer of Indian Football in the
international arena.

He won an SAI Scholarship at age eleven 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
F.C.|Bury Football Club in Manchester, England,
improving his conditioning and strategy.

In 2002 he returned to India and played for the
Mohun Bagan AC 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 longtime girlfriend
Madhuri Tipnis on December 27, 2004 in his native
village of Tinkitam in South Sikkim.