CHENNAI: Refuse to believe a word of those privileged enough to grab a seat inside the Nehru Indoor Stadium on Friday when they say they haven’t experienced goosebumps of differing intensity as the opening ceremony of the inaugural Premier Futsal enjoyed a rollicking start teeming with heavy-weight celebrities.
Even those who were on a strict vow of silence would have found it excruciatingly painful not to indulge in a rule infringement. And considering that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to see their heroes from a hand-shaking distance, they could be spared getting even a slap on their wrists.
The lucky ones inside the arena knew full well that they were running a serious risk of doing lasting damage to their eardrums, but they didn’t so much as let out a moan of despair. Try as one might, they wouldn’t have traded this moment for all the happiness anyone tried to ply them with. The atmosphere which reached a fever pitch didn’t take long to hit a wave of crescendo when the song Neruppu Da from Superstar Rajinikanth’s soon to be released Kabali blared in the background.
As the marquee players were introduced one by one, the decibel level soared to the point of piercing the sky. Goa 5’s marquee player Ronaldinho would seriously contemplate calling India his second home seeing how people cutting across varied age groups have showered their love on him. Surely the 36-year-old Brazilian will have been overwhelmed by the warmth exuded. Such is the charisma he oozes that even his adversaries on court find it hard not to be overawed by his towering presence.
With such happiness pervading all across, if there was one hint of disappointment, it came when the home team Chennai 5’s suffered a 2-4 reverse to Mumbai.
The visiting team enjoyed a period of sustained dominance and surged to a 4-goal lead. It was then time for a belated fightback from the home team as they pulled two goals back in the final quarter. The Italian import Foglia of Mumbai 5’s received the man-of-the-award for scoring a brace.
Result: Mumbai 4 (Foglia 2, Angelot, Ramirez) bt Chennai 2 (Falcao, Cirilo).
