It’s that week of the year that I had been anticipating most eagerly for quite some time now. I will be leading Asia as we square up against Darren Clarke’s European team at the biennial EurAsia Cup starting on Friday at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur.

This is only the second edition of the Ryder Cup-style tournament, but it has already caught the fancy of golf lovers across the continent.

The reasons are many, but I think the biggest one is how Asia managed to battle back from being 0-5 down after the opening fourball matches in 2014 to tie the Cup 10-10 with a heroic display in the singles. Of course, everyone loves a team tournament and the Ryder Cup has set an amazing precedent of what to expect in events like this.

Darren has been a very good friend of mine for almost two decades now, and it is difficult to find someone more gregarious and magnanimous than him. But I will set aside my friendship with him the moment I step on to the golf course. Like it mattered greatly for the pride of Europe to do well when they kept losing to the Americans in the early years of Ryder Cup, a win will be statement for Asian golf.

This year, we have even bigger motivation to play better and win the EurAsia Cup. I am sure most of you are aware that discussions are in advanced stages about merging the memberships of the Asian and European Tours. The Asian players understand the benefits of aligning with a bigger Tour like Europe, but negotiations are ongoing as our membership feel they deserve more than what Europe is currently offering.

A win, or a loss, will not change the demands made by Asian players, but having the trophy by our side is surely going to boost our morale. Asian players think they deserve more because gone are the days when you’d struggle to find one Asian name in the top-10 of co-sanctioned events with the European Tour. In 2015, out of the eight co-sanctioned events between the two Tours, Asian players won four.

I wrote in my previous column how I strongly feel that 2016 could be the year of Asian golf. We want to make a start with the EurAsia Cup. I am under no illusion that Europe are the stronger side – the world rankings say so – but we do have a few things going for us. We will have the support enjoyed by a home team, and we are better prepared for the conditions. But the foremost reason for my optimism is that we are desperate to win.

I do have a few ideas about the pairings, but things will only be firmed up after team meetings and practice rounds. It would be the easiest thing to do if I pair players from the same country together, but team dynamics work a little differently. I like to get a consensus and, hopefully, the six pairs we put out on the first two days will give us a lot of breathing space on Sunday.

The competition is going to be fierce, but both Darren and myself are very clear on one thing – we will play with the utmost respect to our competitors, and to the game of golf.

(Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour)