National Games: Chandigarh golfer sets course record, wins 2 gold
Flying straight to Ahmedabad after competing in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in Taiwan, Kochhar won a gold medal in the individual event and another gold in the team event.
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Anant Ahlawat (left) and Karandeep Singh KochharEarlier this year, 23-year-old golfer Karandeep Singh Kochhar of Chandigarh made the decision to miss the PGTI championship in Panchkula to be able to compete in the National Games.
Flying straight to Ahmedabad after competing in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in Taiwan, Kochhar won a gold medal in the individual event and another gold in the team event.
This was the first appearance the sport made in the National Games and Kochhar set a course record score of 21 under 267. By also winning the team event with Anant Ahlawat, the two got three medals for Chandigarh.
“It’s always special to win the first medal in golf in the National Games. To be able to win the gold medal here makes this feat a memorable one for me and my whole family. The moment it was announced that golf was included in this year’s National Games, I was sure that I would be competing in the event, giving the PGTI event a miss. To win the individual title here with a course record along with the team gold medal along with Anant Ahlawat for Chandigarh is the right kind of momentum I needed to go in the last half of professional golf this year. The gold medals will also motivate more youngsters to practice golf and I am thankful to CGA and Chandigarh Golf Course for providing me with all the facilities,” said Kochhar while speaking with The Indian Express from Ahmedabad.
The Chandigarh youngster carded a first-round score of four-under-68 at the Kensville Golf course before scoring six-under-66 in the second round o be tied for the lead along with Abhinav Lohan. The third round saw Kochhar continuing his fine form with him scoring seven-under-65 to grab a seven-shot lead over Lohan going into the final round. On Sunday, Kochhar carded a score of four-under-68 to edge out Lohan for the gold medal in the individual event.
Kochhar, who was playing on the Asian Tour prior to the National Games, competed in Taiwan earlier this month and missed the cut. “I missed a cut in Taiwan earlier and I was struggling a bit. So I had a talk with my coach Jesse Grewal and worked on my swing. The course here was playing tough as the greens were a bit hard and the fairways were playing soft. To be tied with Abhinav at the end of the second round was a crucial round for me and the second shot off the first tee on the third day, where I hit a 190-year shot made me feel that I can win the title here,” shared Kochhar.
He will be playing in the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational Challenge next week at Chandigarh Golf Club, an event where he won the title in 2020 before he heads back to the Asian Tour to play in events in Morocco, Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam.
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