-- The Gangtok city recently hosted the 1st All India Women's Football Championship for the Pem Dorjee Memorial Cup at Paljor Stadium from October 7th to 15th, 2009. The tournament featured seven state women's teams from Assam, Manipur, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Goa, and Sikkim. The Manipur girls emerged victorious, defeating Orissa in a tiebreaker by a score of three goals to two. While the tournament did not attract large crowds except for the finals, I was particularly interested in the individual after whom the tournament was named. For football enthusiasts, he was known as "Nilu" or Pem Dorji, but beyond the state, he was better known as Pem Dorjee. During one of the semi-finals at Paljor Stadium, I overheard two teenage boys behind me discussing the match and expressing confusion about Pem Dorji's identity. They had never encountered his name before and mistakenly believed that he might have been a former female football player. I couldn't hel...
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