HANGZHOU: A few days ago at the Pingfeng cricket field inside the Zhejiang University of Technology campus, Jun Yu, a student from Beijing, was in the stands holding a placard that read 'Mandhana the Goddess', as the Indian women's cricket team won the Asian Games gold medal.
A few days later, while the Indian men's cricket team trained in the nets, a volunteer from the Games' medical staff was over the moon for a chance to get close to some of India's biggest stars.
The Indian media was waiting for an interaction with coach VVS Laxman and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, when Fu Qinghui showed an autograph on his shirt. It read 'Ruturaj'.
Fu had done his homework, pointing at some of the names in a text written on his mobile in a mix of Mandarin and English.
"I started following cricket last year during our preparations for the game," said Fu, who didn't want to miss the chance of creating a souvenir jersey with autographs of the Indian cricketers.
"It has autographs from the Hong Kong and Indian cricketers," he said flashing the jersey.
The sport of cricket, which was introduced for the first time for women at the Asian Games, is largely alien to the Chinese public. The local fans visit the stadium during India matches to enjoy the atmosphere that the sparse Indian crowd creates with its chants and cheers.
The ball flying for a six invites a few claps, possibly because that's the closest cricket gets to baseball, reminding the Chinese crowd of a home run.
Unlike the women's team, the Indian men's team has understandably arrived here with a young squad led by Gaikwad, while the seniors back home get ready for the ODI World Cup beginning October 5.
India women beat Sri Lanka in the final to top the podium.
The India men's team has got a direct entry to the quarterfinals and will take on Nepal to open their Asian Games campaign on October 3. Pakistan will take on Hong Kong in the other quarter-final scheduled for later the same day.
