The curtain came down on an immensely successful fourth edition of the Junior NCR Cup. What transpired over three days at the Delhi Golf Club would have certainly pleased all the stakeholders.
Given the level of competition, the contestants would have come away a lot richer in experience, the parents on getting to watch their wards excel, and of course the organisers Delhi Golf Society. A brainchild of its president Prakash Bhandari, this edition created a record or sorts by attracting about 140 entries.
Related: With day to go, competition hots up in Junior NCR Cup
The soaring mercury on Friday seemed to have little effect as the endeavour across age groups was to end on a high. Going with the spirit, Ragini Navet scripted a come-from-behind win in Category ‘A’ girls on the par-72 Lodhi Course. The 74 on the day was her best effort this week, and was enough to get her the top spot with a two-shot margin. Her scores read 80, 76, 74 for a 14-over 230. Next in line was overnight leader Mannat Brar at 232 (78, 76, 78), followed by Hunar Brar at 233 (84, 72, 77).
Tied for the lead going into Friday, Rakshit Dahiya ensured the top prize in ‘A’ Boys was his with a 76 to end with a total score of 13-over 229 (76, 77, 76). Aarnav Sharma, 231 (77, 77, 77) and Gurnavjeet Singh Bhatia, 233 (79, 76, 78) were second and third, respectively. It was a disappointing day for Pratham Sawant as the overnight joint leader settled for T4 with a disappointing 82.
Aarav D Shah completed a wire-to-wire finish in ‘B’ Boys for a tournament total of four-over par 220 (70, 77, 73). It was a five-shot win for the Noida boy over Kanav Chauhan, 225 (77, 73, 75). Local boy Ranveer Mitroo finished third in a late rally with a total of 235 (78, 82, 75).
If it was about lifting performance, Kashika Misra showed how its done. After shooting 84, 80, she carded a 78 to bag the top place in ‘B’ Girls with a total of 242. Ayesha Gupta, 251 (89, 79, 83) and Mehveen Adil, 260 (85, 86, 89) completed the top three.
‘C’ Boys was a closely contested category. Overnight joint leaders Harjai Milkha Singh and Jay Handa were upstaged by Sohang Har Kantor (133), who shot a two-over 64 on the par-62 Peacock Course to snatch a two-shot win over Harjai, who finished with rounds of 68, 67. Jay was third at 136 (68, 68).
In girls in this segment, Myra Kumar shot a 78, compared to Thursday’s 76, but it was enough to get her the top prize by a shot at 154. She was followed by Kashika Senthil at 155 (77, 78) and Kashivi Panghal, 157 (76, 81).
Chaitanya Pandey’s dominance in ‘D’ Boys stayed intact with a better show on Friday leaving him top of the heap at 132 (66, 64). There was a yawning gap between him and the rest of the field with Krishnav Gupta finishing at 142 (71, 71), followed by Raajveer Suri at 143 (73, 70).
Anushka Gupta stayed the top name in ‘D’ Girls despite a 11-over 73, which marred her opening day’s 65. With a total of 138, Anushkha was the runaway winner with Dalish Chetry at 153 (74, 79) and Tanvi Kaur at 156 (77, 79).
Steady play paid off for Divjot Gupta as he carded identical 35s to win ‘E’ Boys. At 71, overnight leader Jot Sarup Gupta lost out by a shot and it was due to the slip on Friday which saw him card a 38, compared to 33 on Day 1. Nihaal Cheema had scores of 39 and 37 for a two-day total of 76.
Amaira Gulati won ‘E’ Girls by a whopping 20 shots, the biggest margin of this tournament, but would have come away realising the importance of steady play. After opening with a 35, the 39 caused her to slip, but with the rest of the field far away it was about competing against herself. Devina Rai Vaish (47, 47), Divleen Kaur (46, 48) and Juno Kalyani (42, 52) were tied at 94, but Devina finished second on account of a better final day card. Rehana Malik came next at 97 (50, 47).
Photo Credit: Virendra Singh Gosain
Also Read: Junior NCR Cup off to rousing start on hallowed Lodhi Course
