“I like coming to India. My grandparents were from Amritsar and I have gained immense experience while playing in India"- those are words of Aadil Jahangir. Pakistan's number two amateur and one of the emerging golfers in Pakistan. He couldn't do much but fall in love with Chandigarh when he came to participate in the 107th LG Indian Open Amateur Golf Championship in January this year. "I have been to Punjab on three occasions but this is my only second visit to Chandigarh. It's a very beautiful experience coming back here," added Aadil who is accompanied by his younger brother Danyaal Jahangir, who is also a top amateur golfer in Pakistan. Being part of the 38-member delegate from Pakistan, Aadil is happy with the way golf is developing back home. "The infrastructure is good and many sponsors are coming forward to promote the sport. Earlier, the situation was pretty bad as we did not get enough opportunities due to the popularity of cricket in our country. But fortunately, things started changing and now sponsors are organising more tournaments. There is improvement in the game and moreover, prize money has also increased which is a boost for the golfers. Besides, it has not remained a rich man's game anymore. Caddies, ball boys are being promoted and prize money is also given to them. The basic aim is to make them amateur golfers so that they can compete in tournaments," shared the 23-year-old golf player who majored in finance banking and is now doing BBA from Lahore School of Economics. Despite the interest shown by sponsors in promoting the sport, Pakistan has not been able to produce a top level golfer like Jeev Milkha Singh in India. Why? "Because most of the players do not go out of Pakistan to play in major events, just like Vijay Kumar of India. He is a very talented player but he plays in India only. It's not that Pakistani golfers are not talented. Shabbir Iqbal, for example, has been doing pretty well in the past few months. He won seven professional tournaments in Pakistan at a trot. The amazing part is that he did it in less than two months, starting from August. But certainly we miss a player of the caliber of Jeev Milkha Singh," said the golf enthusiast who got into this game at the age of seven. Not only did his father put him into gold but also taught him the basics of the game and coached him for many years. Shuffling here and there, Aadil's schedule is quite busy for the next few months. "I have to reach Lahore on November 1 after which I will leave for Sri Lankan amateur tournament the next day and after coming back from there on November 10 I will again visit India on 25th for Kirloskar Trophy," said Aadil who considers winning his first title in the form of Dunlop Challenge Shield in 1997 as his most memorable moment.PUNJ-AAB Cup- a peace initiativeMaj -Gen. Zafa Abbas, president, Punjab Golf Association, Pakistan, is meanwhile happy with the way relations are improving between the Indian and Pakistani players. "It is nice to see Pakistani delegates and players interacting with the Indian coaches and players. And since our roots are held firm in India, the relation between the two nations is bound to improve," said Abbas who is on his fourth tour to India. Meanwhile, S K Sharma, president, Punjab Golf Association, also resonate Abbas's voice. "The Punj-aab Cup was organised to initiate peace process between the two nations. Sharing knowledge with each other on golf course management and coaching will help improve the relation between the two countries," said Sharma.India leads on penultimate dayIndia were leading by four points as compared to two points by Pakistan on the penultimate day of Third Punj-aab Cup Golf Championship at Chandigarh Golf Club on Wednesday. While the Indian duo of Raghav Bhandari and Angad Cheema shared half point with Safdar Khan and Aadil Jahangir in the first match, they went on to win the second and third match gaining two points in the process while they lost the fourth match to Pakistan. In the last and the final match of the day, India and Pakistan shared half points each. The final day match will be played tomorrow.
