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Anirban Lahiri's win great megaphone for Indian golf

India had a great weekend in sport. Cricket of course, but I am going to focus on golf, which really does need the attention given how spectacularly well we did last evening. Twenty-seven-year-old Anirban Lahiri won the national golf championship, the Hero Indian Open, with a brilliant display of focus, clarity and golf. Getting his second title in three weeks, Lahiri is India's top-ranked golf around 30 in the world rankings. His win, though came over experienced golf and countryman SSP Chawrasia, is a great megaphone for the way Indian golf is going.

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India had a great weekend in sport. Cricket of course, but I am going to focus on golf, which really does need the attention given how spectacularly well we did last evening. Twenty-seven-year-old Anirban Lahiri won the national golf championship, the Hero Indian Open, with a brilliant display of focus, clarity and golf. Getting his second title in three weeks, Lahiri is India's top-ranked golf around 30 in the world rankings. His win, though came over experienced golf and countryman SSP Chawrasia, is a great megaphone for the way Indian golf is going.

There is already talk of Lahiri being considered for the President's Cup, and he is as close as it gets to playing the Augusta Masters this year. He will need to stay in the top 50 rankings until the first week of April when the Masters qualifications are finalised. Having already qualified for the British Open, Lahiri's game will be in full global display, giving India a real chance at making a mark and attracting attention to golf here.

"This has been a childhood dream so it is very special to keep the Indian Open trophy at home. Every Indian puts winning the Indian Open on their bucket list. I couldn't have asked for a better day," Lahiri beamed. "Winning your national open is like winning a 5th Major." I first met the young golfer when he was still in his teens, chipping and practicing at a golf course in Bangalore. He has been working hard this last decade and focusing on his mental state. Whether it was Vipassana or meditation in gentle, he kept experimenting with the idea of 'focus' and in the end that seems to have been his winning strategy. Having played a poor round one, making up for it in the second round to get inside the cut, Lahiri played the weekend in style.

He steadily rose through the leadership beat the windy conditions of the Delhi Golf Club. Lahiri's surge in the sport in the last 12 months should trigger some more spotlight to the game even as golf gets re-inducted to the Olympics in 2016. While sport officials may say this time golf isn't the biggest contender but there is no doubt the sport's best talent will be able shine in the future given the appropriate support and funding.

Lahiri who bagged the Best Golfer of 2015 at the recently held India Golf Awards admitted to a panel on stage that his golf had tto credit the armed forces. "I have to thank the military for my game," he said. This is a remarkable statement from India's top-notch player telling of how few public golf courses we have and how much more the government can help build the sport. For long, we have cried hoarse for the need for heroes to grow a sport. Here's the Indian Open that stood its ground in a busy cricket season and here's our new hero on whose shoulders rests the great effort of bringing more and more visibility to Indian golf. For the rest of us, the least we can do is add more power to his goals.

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