Rashid looks beyond the boundaries

“I really believe I need to go abroad and test my mettle,” Rashid told Sportline on Wednesday. “I do get to travel as part of the Indian team through the Indian Golf Union,of course,but it would be great if I could work out some way to get more international exposure.”

Rashid has won six tournaments already in the current domestic season — there are two more left — and that has taken the tally of his career amateur wins to 10. The teenager also won two international titles in the past year,defending his Faldo Series Asia title in March and taking the Singapore Amateur in October. He is the first ever back-to-back winner of the Faldo Asia title.

His latest win,at the LG Eastern India Amateur last week,was extra special because it came in the pressure-testing matchplay format,the first of its kind for the youngster. “It was obviously a great feeling to win my tenth title,but that win was close to my heart because I had never won a matchplay tournament before this. Not only did that mean playing through two qualifying rounds and five matches,but it also involved ensuring I that my game was always better than who I was playing against. That brings some added pressure,but I feel really happy to have finished the year in this fashion,” he said.

Rashid,at the top of the pile on the domestic amateur Order of Merit,has also made big jumps on the world ranking list in the recent past. Rashid first jumped into the top 100 of the R&A’s official amateur rankings the week before last with his runaway win at the LG West Bengal Championship — he won with his biggest-ever margin of 11 shots after shooting an eight-under on the last day. With another title at the LG Eastern India Amateur last week,he has moved up again,and he is now ranked 70th in the world. “World rankings are important because as you go higher,you begin getting invites to international tournaments. That fits perfectly with how I want the next few months to go,” Rashid said.

The main aim for 2010 — and he has his eyes set on the target – is the Asian Games,however. The legacy of India’s good run at the continental competition was carried forward by the team silver in Doha that Anirban Lahiri,Gaganjeet Bhullar,Chiragh Kumar and Joseph Chakola brought home and Rashid wants to hold the success baton. “The Asian Games are extremely important to me. I’m going to turn professional right after that,so I would like to finish on a high note,” he said.

For the moment,however,Rashid has set his eyes on the Selangor Amateur Open Golf Championship in Malaysia and the South Asian Games in Dhaka,both starting in January.