Ashok Kumar vaults into lead

His attitude, that has been moulded out of his journey from a caddy-boy at the Air Force Golf Club in New Delhi where he was not even allowed to play golf; to one of the country’s most promising stars, has held him in good stead at the Aamby Valley golf course, here.

On the eve of the tournament, Ashok was ridden down by a stomach bug. On the first day of the tournament, he trailed veteran Hendrik Buhrmann by one stroke; and after Round Two on Friday, has shot into the lead by four strokes from his nearest rival Simon Hurd of England.

“I don’t bother about what’s in store tomorrow. That only brings in more tension. I take each day as it comes,” he says, and aptly proves it during the day, holding his composure and cool temperament despite some close misses (including a car as prize for a possible hole-in-one), to notch seven birdies and take the lead in the $ 400,000 tournament.

He does not hold a card on the Asian Tour but insists he does not even think about his career. “I don’t have those kind of worries. I have the club and the ball in my hand — and nothing concerns you beyond that. It is all about self-belief and high thinking says Ashok, who was the country’s top amateur from 1999-2001. If you are talented and willing to work hard, you will always get a helping hand,” he says.

–sanasikelkar@expressindia.com