The Shubhankar Sharma Invitational, organised by Ace Golf in Ambala on April 10, held twice the excitement for the participants. Not only there was the opportunity to vie for top honours across age categories, the bonus was the chance to interact with the champion golfer and imbibe the valuable tips during the clinic.
There was something in it for parents too, which made the waiting game less trying. Colonel Mohan Sharma (retd), Shubhankar’s father, gave an insight into what it takes to rear an athlete. The audience was in rapt attention and the questions that followed were a pointer that the interaction was a runaway success.
Getting back to the competition earlier in the day, the warm Sunday did little to dampen the golfers’ spirit. Hole Nos 1 and 10 were abuzz with activity as one group teed off after another.
Needless to say, the level of competition was high, especially in the higher age groups. Proof lay in Ritesh’s card of three-under 69 that got him the top honours among Amateurs. His was the lone under-par round in the section as Aditya Sood followed with a two-over par 74. Sanjeev and Ritadhvaj Bose finished at 78 but the former scored on countback.
Devin Singh was the winner in ‘A’ boys with a five-over 77. He was followed by Pratham Sawant (80) and Dilawer Singh (82), who outscored Anant Singh Digvijay on countback. In ‘A’ girls, Meher Nijjer (77), Diya Brar (82) and Ravjot Kaur Dosanjh (84) made it 1-2-3.
Shrestha Shukla topped ‘B’ girls in a playoff after she and Bhavya Mann carded a similar 87. Nadr Kaur was next with a 93. Among boys in the category, Samarpratap Singh Sandhu (85), Aarya Sharma (86) and Jatin Kumar (88) made the podium.
Prince Bainsla won comfortably with a three-shot cushion in ‘C’ boys. At five-over 77, he was followed by Nischay Bakshi and Shreyas Sen (87). Rajeeta was the top name among girls with a 94, and was followed by Myra Kumar and Divina Khanna.
‘D’ boys was keenly contested between Udayveer Singh Gill and Kairav Singh, and the former emerged victorious after both boys tied at 74. Sohraab Singh Talwar finished third at 77. Among girls, Tanvi Kaur scorched the greens with a sub-par 69. Ojaswini Saraswat (76) and Rabab Kahlon (81) were next.
In what was the day’s third under-par round, Samar Baijal outshone the field in ‘E’ boys with a 33. He was followed by Divjot Gupta at level-par and Siddhant Sharma at 37. The girls’ section was dominated by Amaira Gulati with a 39. She was followed by Gairat Kaur Kahlon (47) and Rehana Malik (55).
Photo Credit: Virendra Singh Gosain
