Journalism of Courage
AS PANCHKULA youngster 21-year-old Shubhankar Sharma became the top-ranked Indian golfer with a rank of 72 in the world golf rankings released on Monday, it was also a time when five Indian golfers, including another Chandigarh golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu, were placed in the top 200 in the world. The last one year has seen Shubhankar winning twice on the European Tour and his father Col Mohan Sharma, who shifted to Panchkula in August 2016, believes that more such wins await the youngster.
“Rankings matter in golf as the top 50-60 golfers get to play in the four majors. But, for Shubhankar, rankings are a part of the process. It is overwhelming to know that he has now become the top-ranked Indian golfer, but his focus will be on maintaining consistency and playing best to his ability. Yes, earning more points on the tour will help him break him into the top 60 golfers and get a chance to play in all the majors will be a big thing for him,” said 51-year-old Col Mohan Sharma, who retired from NSG, Manesar.
Sunday saw Sharma winning the $300,0000 Maybank Championship in Malaysia and the youngster climb from the 193rd spot to 72nd in world rankings. While Sharma’s long-time friend, Anirban Lahiri, is placed 76th, Kapurthala golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar is placed 155th followed by Shiv Kapur at 192 and Ajeetesh Sandhu at 199th. Only seven countries in the world have more golfers than India in the top 200 with USA leading the pack with 76 players. Last year, Col Sharma accompanied his son to Malaysia. But, this year, Sharma’s younger sister Vandini Sharma’s birthday and the family’s trip to the Jaipur Literature Festival meant that the Sharmas watched Shubhankar’s win on TV.
“The win has not sunk in for us yet. He started at the 18th spot in the final round and a 10-under score in the final round shows that he likes challenges. His mother Dr Neena Sharma and sister Vandini Sharma, too, were following the final round eagerly. Today morning, Anirban Lahiri also called him from USA and congratulated him. Anirban is senior to him and to get a compliment from him is encouraging for Shubhankar,” gushed the proud father.
From watching a young Shubhankar becoming the youngest Indian to win the All India Amateur Golf Championship in 2013 to becoming the youngest Indian golfer to win on the European Tour, Sharma has followed his son’s career from the beginning. Now, the father is eagerly waiting for Shubhankar to play at The Open championships in July. “In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, he got a chance to play alongside players like world No. 1 Dustin Johnson and World No. 5 Justin Rose apart from Rory Mcllroy and when he plays at The Open in July, he will be rubbing shoulders with all these players again,” said Sharma.
