Shubhankar Sharma, Anirban Lahiri are India's best golfers, says Lakshman Singh

Ankit Bisht

New Delhi, Oct 3 (IANS) Former Asian Games gold medallist golfer 'Bunny' Lakshman Singh termed India's top-ranked player Shubhankar Sharma, and experienced Anirban Lahiri as the country's best golfers of the current generation. Lakshman is also hopeful of the country's potential to produce "some good golfers in the next two to three years". 

Lakshman, who is currently playing in the fourth edition of the Delhi Golf Club League (DGCL) with Sterling Swingers, remains optimistic about India's chances of winning an Olympic medal in golf. In the Paris Olympics, Shubhankar finished at T40 to achieve the country's best performance in the sport in the mega event. He surpassed Anirban's previous best finish of T42 at the Tokyo Olympics.

"I can't say too much about that but that's a very high level (Olympics). Yes, we do have really good golfers coming up. We got Shubhankar Sharma, we got Anirban Lahiri and these two are probably our best international golfers. There are some youngsters also coming through. The next Olympics is four years away, who knows there could be a breakthrough. Young Veer Ahlawat is also playing superb golf. So, let's hope (for the best)," Lakshman told IANS on Thursday.

When asked about his experience of the tournament and playing for the first time in the DGCL, he said, "This is the first year I'm playing in the DGCL and I'm playing for Sterling Swingers, Atul Agarwal is the owner and Anshul Chawla is the captain. I was invited to play and I accepted to play. This league is a wonderful way for the Delhi Golf Club, we have more than 20 teams participating with 19 players each.

"There is a lot of camaraderie together, here is a big mix of players and a lot of enthusiasm. This is not the only league in the country. It was first started by the Royal Calcutta Golf Club about nine years ago. Since then, there have been nine such leagues across the country. This is more for the average and club golfers but there is a lot of enthusiasm which is good," he said.

"I'm enjoying it. My golf is not so good presently," he added on his performance in the tournament.

Lakshman also emphasised the importance of such leagues in creating a platform for youngsters. "The leagues like these are the first platform to get to a certain level. In golf, you have to be competitive. When you play in the big tournament it is open for all categories. So, it's an experience and you have to play well to beat your opponent," he said.

"I won't say too much about (this league) contributing to excellence but it certainly brings a lot of awareness to the game which is good. A lot of youngsters are also joining the league and every team has one or two really good players; so there's a big experience for them also. The more you play, the more exposure you get, which is good," the Arjuna Award recipient added.

However, Lakshaman is happy with the way golf is gaining popularity in the country and sees a bright future for youngsters like Veer Ahlawat and Karandeep Kochhar.

"I certainly see a lot of activity but golf needs a lot of effort and if the individual is not ready to put the effort in, he will be a good golfer but he will never be the best. There are only one or two, who made that effort like Anirban Lahiri, Shubhankar Sharma and Veer Ahlawat is the one. Shiv Kapoor is the one but he is now a senior golfer. Karandeep Kochhar is coming up. I hope the country produces some good golfers in the next two to three years," he said.

"My only advice to youngsters today is that if you do pick up the game, it's a wonderful sport and you got to give it some time and hard work. There is no substitute for hard work," he concluded.