From the cocooned world of Kapurthala, Gaganjeet Bhullar has exploded on the big stage with a bang. His win at the Indonesian Invitational on Sunday capped up what has been a remarkable progress golf is making in India.
Exploits of the likes of Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Arjun Atwal, Shiv Kapur, Gaurav Ghei and Bhullar himself, among others, on the international tour has forced the golfing world to take notice of the talent back home. There is no doubt that we have a long way to go but Bhullar’s dominant performance over the weekend asserted the dominance of Indians on the Asian Tour.
India No.1 Jeev feels this is the time when we take the game to next level in India and expose more and more youngsters to this game. “By watching a guy just 21 years old playing Masters, winning a tournament will surely encourage youngsters to take up golf. We just have to catch them young and mould them into good, quality golfers,” the world No.42 told DNA from Chandigarh.
Touted as the second fastest growing sport in India after cricket, Jeev believes various factors have contributed to the development of the sport. “The most of all is the vast improvement on the domestic tour. The number of tournaments in India and its quality is improving everyday. Because of that the media has started paying a lot of attention to golf which is good for the sport,” Jeev remarked.
He insists that the image of golf being a sport for the affluent families needs to change. Most of the golfers in India have an Army backing or are son’s of Army men, which means they don’t have to bother much about the infrastructure. SSP Chowrasia, son of a green-keeper (one who maintains the greens on a golf course) has made it big. Even Bhullar comes from a middle-class background.
But in a country where cricket dominates the rest and the English Premier League topping the TV charts, it’s a task to introduce a sport like golf, which isn’t a viewer-friendly sport. He believes that once golf becomes an Olympic sport - it is in reckoning to be included for the 2016 Olympics - the scenario will change a lot.
“This is where the government needs to step in. The only way we can promote golf is by making it more accessible to all,” Jeev said. “In our country, top players will always come from small towns because the courses are easily accessible.”
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