Young golfers hope to shine

The TAKE Solutions Masters has served as an ideal platform for the preparation for three of the four golfers who will represent the country at the Asian Games in Jakarta.

Aadil Bedi, Harimohan Singh and Rayhan Thomas all participated in the Asian Tour event at the Karnataka Golf Association while the other member of the team, Kshitij Naveed Kaul, missed out.

Bedi and Harimohan have gained plenty after making the cut but Rayhan had a topsy-turvy couple of days before missing out on the action of the last two rounds. But 18-year-old Rayhan, based in Dubai, insists the tournament has helped him familiarise with the conditions and tweak certain aspects of his game ahead of the quadrennial event.

“Disappointed that I missed the cut but this tournament has really helped me prepare for the Games. It always helps to play on a different course so that we can learn to adapt to different conditions,” said Rayhan, who holds the record for maximum number of consecutive birdies (nine) which he shot at the Dubai Creek Open in 2017.

Harimohan, son of former India hockey player and Arjuna awardee MP Singh, concurred, saying: “We have had a few practice rounds in Jakarta and the course is similar to this one (KGA). Playing with the top pros from Asia helps us compete and realise how much more we need to do or how much harder we need to work.”

Starting at the tender age of nine when his dad took him to a golf course, Oklahoma-bound Rayhan, who says Bengaluru is his favourite city, revealed the Asian Games squad was all prepped and raring to go.

“We stay together in our preparation camps and bond a lot. The team is really gelling well. We have played about eight rounds together so we know what exactly we need to do.”

For Bedi, representing the country will be his most cherished memory before he goes on to turn pro at the end of the year.

“I’m really excited to be representing the country. It is my first multi-sport event. We just want to take every chance we have as a team to bring back a medal. I will relish it for the rest of my life.

“We need to stay focused about what will get us the medal. That is most important,” the 21-year-old said.

It will be a fabulous opportunity for the youngsters as they carry the medal hopes of an entire nation and in an individual sport like golf, to experience the unique feeling of what it is like to play as a team.