Bhutia celebrates his goal in the final of the AFC Challenge Cup in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Gangtok, Aug. 14: As Bhaichung Bhutia led India to “the greatest win of his career” at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi yesterday, he may have been secretly boosted by the adrenaline rush that runs through every football-loving Sikkimese in August.

Despite the heavy monsoon showers, August is at the heart of the football season in the hill state when the feverish frenzy for the game reaches its peak. A day after India’s 4-1 demolition of Tajikistan in the final of the AFC Challenge Cup, Bhutia, who hails from Sikkim, seemed well aware of the significance of the timing of the triumph.

“It’s a wonderful coincidence that this win has come at a time when football is big in Sikkim. This is the month when somebody or the other from each house or family in Sikkim is directly or indirectly involved with football, either as player, spectator or organiser, and they are talking only about football,” Bhutia told The Telegraph over the phone from New Delhi.

“I am happy that we have been able to give our countrymen this big achievement, which gives us direct entry to the highest level of football in Asia, right at this moment. This is the greatest win of my career,” added the skipper of the national team who scored India’s second goal in the final.

The win in the AFC Challenge will allow Bhutia and his men to play in the finals of the Asian Cup to be held in 2011. The last time India played in the finals was in 1984.

In the run-up to August 15, footballers in Sikkim can be seen in cars mounted with flags rushing from one tournament to another that are organised in almost every town and village of the state with the finals slated for Independence Day. In villages where there are neither roads nor vehicles, players walk miles to reach the venues.

Bhutia still remembers playing in these small August 15 tournaments back home. “Everybody has fun playing, eating and drinking and it is more of a festival, despite some serious football at that level,” he said. The striker returns to Calcutta tomorrow.

The Sikkim Football Association has sent a congratulatory message to Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri (who scored a hattrick yesterday) and their teammates. It has also requested the All India Football federation to provide more assistance to develop infrastructure in “footballer-producing states” like Sikkim. “As many as seven players in the national side are from the north-eastern states. Since these states are producing quality footballers, we request the AIFF to provide more assistance, especially in infrastructure development, to them” said the general secretary of SFA, Menla Ethenpa.

The alumni association of Bhaichung’s school, Tashi Namgyal Academy, has also congratulated the team and its captain on the “historic win”.