Chencho Gyeltshen

Chencho Gyeltshen was born in Shaba Gewog, Paro District, Bhutan, on May 10, 1996, into a lower middle class family. Though Bhutan’s FIFA ranking may not be that higt, but there is a certain football culture, so it was natural for Chencho to take up football.

Chencho started playing football during his primary school days, mostly for fun. He along with his older brother played for longer hours, but Chencho was more interested in martial arts. Football as a sport didn’t appeal to him, until he watched Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the ‘English Premier League.’ Chencho became an ardent fan of the Portuguese footballer and tried focusing more on his football skills.

He attended Kelki International School and was aware of the club scene in Bhutan. Despite the poor infrastructure, he raised above all the limitations and honed his skills and his hard-work eventually paid off.

His older brother had seen him playing and he knew right away that Chencho had the potential to become a star. On his brother’s encouragement, Chencho joined the local club ‘Yeedzin’ at the age of 12 in 2008. Five years down, he became one of the star players in the team and played a major role in getting ‘Yeezdin F.C.’ win ‘Bhutan National League Championship.’

The 2013 King’s Cup was another success story for him and his team, as he led his team to the finals. In the final match against ‘Manang Marshyangdi’ of Nepal, he scored two goals, but couldn’t ensure victory.

After his stunning performances, bigger and better things awaited him. In 2014, he joined the ‘Thimpu League’ team ‘Druk United.’ He captained the team in the King’s Cup 2014 and his double goal against the Indian club ‘Mohun Bagan’ brought him more fame and exposure.

His contract with ‘Thimpu FC’ officially made him the best Bhutanese footballer to come out in years as he was the leading scorer in the ‘Thimpu League’ with 10 goals in 17 matches. His association with ‘Surin City F.C.’ increased his fame further.

Many South Asian football clubs started approaching him, but Chencho decided to focus on his studies. In 2015, he became a part of ‘Thai Premier League’ with ‘Buriram United.’ His stint in Thailand was extremely successful and he finally got the attention of biggest football league in all Southern Asia, the ‘Indian I-League.’