Indian golfers stand a good chance to qualify for the 2016 Olympics even though achieving a medal may be a difficult target, says Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Director Padamjit Sandhu.
Speaking at a seminar, Indian Golf Forum 2011 , conducted by SportzPower here on Thursday, Sandhu said a recent sample study conducted by PGTI gave him the confidence that Indian golfers, on the basis of their rankings, would comfortably qualify for the Rio Games, where golf would make its return to the Olympics.
The PGTI took the sample of this year and saw that, according to the qualification rules, golfers with world rankings of up to 486 could make the cut for the mega event. “The field will be widespread and anyone ranked between 20{+t}{+h} and 40{+t}{+h} can have a good chance,” Sandhu said of the four-day stroke-play event without the cut.
On the basis of current rankings, seven Indians come within the cut-off mark (a country is allowed to field only two golfers after the first 15 ranks). Sandhu's observations may inspire the Indian golfers to improve their rankings as they have been lying low at present due to indifferent performances and injury-related problems.
Romit Bose, a prominent coach, endorsed Sandhu's views and said even India's back-up line was quite strong with players like Jyoti Randhawa, Rahil Gangjee, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Digvijay Singh and Shamim Khan ranked beyond the cut-off mark. “These players can also improve their performance and be in the reckoning,” he said.
However, Bose was pessimistic about the chances of a medal as he felt that sustained effort could get an Indian on the Olympic podium by the 2024 Games. He said even top women golfers from the country, like Sharmila Nicollet and Smriti Mehra, could aspire for an Olympics berth by playing in right kind of tournaments and bettering their rankings.
In the Olympics, both men and women's events will have a field of 60 players each.
Sandhu said in order to build more confidence in talented professionals who found it difficult to travel abroad to take part in international events, PGTI might hold more international tournaments in India. “We want to let them perform with less pressure. From five tournaments a year now, we want to have eight or nine international events in India.”
He even welcomed the idea of engaging managers to help the professional golfers concentrate on their game alone.
Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director General Desh Deepak Verma said SAI would like to help the players achieve excellence in order to win medals at the Olympics.
There was a lot of stress on backing the junior golfers, utilisation of existing facilities and opening up more golfing avenues for the common man.
Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) Secretary Jhanja Tripathy sought partnerships to develop RSPB's existing golfing infrastructure across the country and link it to tourism.
Madhukar Chaturvedi, the captain of the Rambagh Golf Course, said how successful planning had led to clearing the path for setting up of the National Golf Academy in Jaipur.
Delhi Golf Society (DGS) Secretary H.S. Kingra called for broadbasing the sport, while Brig. Virender Kumar of Qutub Golf Course presented a case study about the public-friendly course.
On making golf coaching a more lucrative job, 1982 Asian Games gold medallist Rishi Narain gave an example of the US and suggested that coaches could double up as club managers as it would be a win-win situation for both.
