The victory lap

Mona

It was more than a cake that awaited students at Alliance Francaise on Monday morning; they also got to know that their director Asylvain Choin was himself an adept footballer! “You can’t be lucky twice,” shared a jubilant Choin, who also impressed one and all with some moves. Little wonder, he has played the game for 15 years and was a semi-professional! “Something like FIFA World Cup win is great, we must celebrate,” he screamed to the cheering pack.

The win has not only made the world sit up and take notice of France, but cutting academic, economic and social barriers, the country has stood as one, feels Choin, who has been in India for more than an year now.

French connection

As he touched base with his family and friends back home on Whatsapp and Skype over the 90 minutes of the thrilling match, he rues that he knows only one other French person who calls tricity home. “I was overjoyed to see the fans throng the Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysees celebrate wild; I am guessing about a million of them,” he says.

Very proud of Mbappé, who bagged the FIFA Young Player Award, Choin shared that training starts early in his country. “Football is the number one game back there and each city has its own academy to train players as young as 12 or 13, who eventually get to play in European and world tournaments early on.”

Happy to be calling Chandigarh home, Choin looks over the window from his office that has a splendid view of the garden, “It’s Tour de France next!”

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