Lahiri gets 'little brother' Chikka to caddie for him at Olympics

Ace golfer Anirban Lahiri considers fellow pro S Chikkarangappa his ‘little brother’. Lahiri, along with renowned coach Vijay Divecha, has been instrumental in turning mason’s son Chikkarangappa into an accomplished golfer. Even when Lahiri steadily climbed the ladder of success and migrated to the United States around five years ago, he has constantly remained in touch with Chikkarangappa and ensured his ‘little brother from another mother’ grew along as well.

Now, Lahiri is taking that brotherhood to another level. The 34-year-old top-ranked Indian golfer will be taking Chikkarangappa as his caddie for the Tokyo Olympics later this month. “I'm really happy, very happy that India is going to be fully represented in the men's event (with Udayan Mane also earning qualification),” said a beaming Lahiri in a conference call arranged by the PGA Tour on Wednesday.

“Hopefully I can correct what I felt like I couldn't do last time (in Rio), and obviously Mane being with me, it'll be nice. Also having my dear friend, my little brother Chikkarangappa caddying for me is also something that I'm looking forward to. We'll have three of us there, we all just are students of Vijay sir, all motivated with the same goal, which is to bring glory to our country.”

Lahiri said apart from the wonderful camaraderie they share, the main reason behind taking Chikkarangappa, the fourth highest ranked Indian golfer currently, is that the 27-year-old knows his game very well. “I think one of the reasons I asked Chikka to come and caddie for me is because he understands my game, he has the same amount of passion that any of us do about doing well for our country and also he brings that extra to the table because we've played so much competitive golf together, he knows what I do and what I don't do when I'm playing well and when I don’t. I also factored that when I made that decision, I think, to have someone to talk to, someone who's going to push me and give it to me straight would be ideal in such a big tournament. Having Chikka with me gives me extra ammunition.”

Lahiri, who was diagnosed with a severe bout of Covid pneumonia in April and subsequently lost nearly 7 kgs in a short span, rued the absence of a coach at the Olympics. According to some reports Jeev Milkha Singh was offered the role by the Indian Olympic Association but the golfing legend declined to travel owing to twin tragedies in his family. Jeev’s presence would have been a great boost to Lahiri and Mane as he played on the Japanese tour for many years.

“I know Jeev is very sad after what happened. We are all heartbroken. I can completely understand where he is. Would have been unbelievable to have him, obviously, because he provides an element of experience in Japan specifically. He also provides the inspiration as someone that all of us look up to, Mane, myself, other players as well. So yes, his presence will be missed.

“But I think when it comes to having a coach, if you were to ask my personal opinion, I've done so much work with Vijay the last two months that now I have to take responsibility for my game. I have to take ownership for my own result. Of course having Vijay with us would have been perfect for both of us, but at the end of the day it's our responsibility. When we are on that golf course, once we tee off on the first hole, it's on us.”