Promoting Asean Solidarity And Friendship In Delhi

By Shakir Husain Bernama's correspondent Shakir Husain shares the happenings in India from New Delhi. NEW DELHI, Feb 10 (Bernama) -- There was chill in the morning air last Sunday and the view slightly impaired by winter fog. However, that did not dampen the enthusiasm of Malaysians and other ASEAN citizens gathered for a friendly futsal competition in New Delhi. It was organised as a weekend fun event, but the competitive spirit of the game was palpable as the senior diplomats gave a good run for their money to their younger counterparts on the lawn of the Malaysian High Commission. Families cheered from the sidelines as the games were played, goals scores, and the players tried their flicks and tricks. The atmosphere was akin to a well-organised college competition. Some children waved national flags but this was more to generate a festive mood than to express patriotic fervour. "We volunteered to host this event as part of our collective efforts to foster friendship and camaraderie among ASEAN diplomatic missions," Malaysian charge d'affaires Nor'Azam Mohd Idrus told Bernama. "This is our first such initiative as ASEAN in Delhi. We hope to organise more events later involving other sports," he said. The Malaysian High Commission team wore the national football team's colours. Clearly the intention was to enjoy the game with a degree of professionalism. A senior diplomat said the gathering came at the right time for the Southeast Asian community in the Indian capital. "We are celebrating the golden jubilee of ASEAN's founding, so a gathering like this contributes to our regional solidarity. We should interact more among ourselves and also with other communities as a group," he said. Greater connectivity and closeness are also part of 2017 being celebrated as Visit ASEAN Year. On a different level, the event is certain to give ASEAN diplomats more creative ideas for having fun in their hectic life in the vast and crowded city. The futsal tournament itself originated from occasional Malaysian and Vietnamese sporting engagement. Initially, people from the two diplomatic missions were planning to hold bilateral team games but they decided to explore whether other ASEAN members might be interested in joining them for an outdoor event. Eventually it became a well-organised contest of futsal involving all the 10 ASEAN missions in New Delhi. Since some diplomatic missions are small, three of them joined to form one team and in total there were eight teams. Vietnam's team emerged as the champions. The Malaysian women's group known as Perwakilan New Delhi came forward to offer the all-important logistics help. Hosting the event required making arrangements for lunch and refreshments for 150 people. The task was done with much ease and aplomb by Perwakilan. "Without their support it would not have been easy to organise this gathering. They have once again showed their excellent skills in managing events," said a Malaysian diplomat. As the day progressed, it became warmer and brighter and the focus of spectators wasn't solely on the futsal field. Delhi's relatively mild winter this season, cash crunch from India's demonetisation of high-value currency notes, and where to find best local kebabs and curries also became part of the conversation. --BERNAMA