Amrit Lal turned professional on the back of pain. The 21-year-old had struck his iron against a tree at the Chandigarh Golf Club, and though he got out of the rough, he landed in a mess by fracturing the right thumb as a result of the impact.
That was the summer of 2018 and the effects resounded well into 2019 on the Professional Golf Tour of India when he had turned pro.
Medication and physiotherapy helped to an extent but “whenever I tried to strike the ball hard the pain flared up,” says Amrit, who has been with the Indian Air Force for over two years.
The intermittent golf was a test of patience as he could turn up for just a handful of events on the Feeder Tour in 2019.
It was here that father Sucha Singh stepped in once more. As mentor and coach, he had helped Amrit chart troubled waters many a time and on this occasion his advice was “that perhaps something good lay in store”.
Sitting out steeled Amrit’s resolve and when action restarted on PGTI in November last, Amrit has made every event count.
The top-10 at the Players Championship in Panchkula was a career first as was his biggest pay cheque of Rs 1,87,650 at the club which Amrit has had his share of learnings, and irrespective of the outcome, the boy knows his time will come.
“सब्र का फल मीठा होता है. (Patience has its virtues),” is the belief of the strapping athlete.
Photo credit: Amrit Lal
Steeled by pain and father’s advice, Amrit Lal on the right track
