This time the cheers were for Duliajan. A young boy of fifteen or sixteen was running in celebration. The supporters of Duliajan filled the air with their cheers. O’Connor and his group were also clapping enthusiastically.

With an aggressive strategy, the players of Duliajan were advancing towards the goalpost, overpowering the defences of Seven Star. The spectators watched with bated breath. Under the canopy, Addison and the others were on the edge of their seats with excitement. The whistle of the referee created the excitement of a war zone.

‘He is readying for a shot!’ a group of people shouted. The ball flew towards the goalpost.

‘Pulok! Pulok!’ the supporters of Seven Star shouted out to the goalkeeper. With both hands outstretched, Pulok caught the ball, but lost his balance and fell to the ground. The field resounded with applause again.

Ten minutes later, Liang of Seven Star scored a goal just as the referee blew the whistle for half-time.

The supporters of Duliajan were heartbroken. They had hired a couple of good players this time but still had no chance of winning. It was quite hard to beat Seven Star.

‘It’s time to close this Chinese club!’ someone in the crowd said.

‘Hong and Ming should not have been asked to play. They are Chinese. It is obvious that they will favour their own people.’

‘Ming just scored a goal. Stop talking rubbish.’

‘I am not talking rubbish. Why could Hong not catch Lee Chang’s ball?’

‘Hey, keep quiet. They will hear you!’

‘Let them hear. What will they do? The very sight of these Chinese people annoys me these days.’

‘What have they done?’

‘Don’t you know what they are doing at the border? Look at their faces now. Anyone can see how happy they are. And why wouldn’t they be? If they beat us today they will feel as if they have occupied India.’

‘Let them win today. We will thrash them in such a way that they will go back half dead.’

‘What nonsense is this? Have they done anything to harm you? There are other non-Chinese players in this club too,’ Ananta flared up after he overheard the conversation.

Ananta was a student leader and everyone knew him. The man looked at him in surprise and asked, ‘Do you trust them?’

‘Why does the question of trust arise? They are not at fault – they are football players. Why are you mixing up two completely different things?’

The man kept quiet. He did not want to antagonize a student leader.

‘Don’t talk like that, Ananta da,’ another student cautioned him. ‘The situation is not good at this moment.’ There were a lot of comments coming through. Some volatile, some reasoned.

‘It’s obvious he will say that. Everyone knows about his affair with Ahlin. How can he take criticism against the Chinese?’

‘In the next conference of the students’ union we will have to remove him from the post.’