Vani Kapoor is confident to shine on international stint

Indian golfer Vani Kapoor, who is the only Indian selected for the Ladies European Tour this season, is hopeful for winning a medal on her international stint, bringing laurels to the country.

"I am looking forward to bagging a win definitely, I am just waiting for that. But you know, that is like my out-term goal. For that I need to do a few things which are like my immediate goals, which I need to work on. So, as long as I have made a strategy for every event that I play, and I stick to it, because sticking to a strategy is very tough, as sometimes, you get a bit too greedy or you underplay it; you just need to find that constant level of yourself. As long as I am committed to everything that I have done, I am sure the outer result will definitely come," she said.

She added that she is looking forward to the experience and the exposure as it will help to put Indian golf on the world map.

"I have quite a few tournaments coming up and I am really looking forward to this experience, exposure, and you know hopefully doing well because I am really in good form and I am waiting for things to click. And if everything clicks at one go, I am really hopeful of bagging a win this year. Just playing golf in different countries and stuff, it just teaches us a lot, more experience, it just betters the game, every week, there is something more to learn. So, I am really looking forward to this experience," she said.

Meanwhile, she also expressed disappointment on not being able to play the domestic season.

"It is just sad that I will be missing the domestic season because I love playing in India as well, you know it is my comfort zone. I love winning. But if I need to get better, I have to move out, it is the betterment for the country, to put Indian golf on the world map. But yes, you know definitely what Women's Golf Association of India (WGAI) has done for us, you know, giving us a platform to play golf, and you know cherish our dreams and stuff like that, because many countries I know of, they don't have a tour and they really have to move out or they have very few chances to prove themselves. But I guess, we Indians are so blessed to have a tour where they give us chances to achieve our goals," she added.

Kapoor further explained the difficulties in playing away from home, but added that tighter golf courses in India serve as an advantage for domestic players abroad.

"So, as I said, you know, India is comfort, that I have just stepped into. This is my second year, on the European tour and the weather conditions are very different, that being the main part. The golf courses are different but it is more of scoring. golf courses here are very tight, so that we have an advantage when we go to Europe. But the weather conditions, mostly it is really chilly and to get used to that, and there is so much of wind. You need to learn how to tackle the wind but that is something that just experience teaches us, while we are travelling," she concluded.

23-year-old Vani Kapoor was the highest ranked Indian in the Hero Indian Women's Open last year with a finish at the sixth position.

She also had the maximum number of wins of the Women's professional golf tour in 2017. Her upcoming tournaments include the Jabra Ladies Open, France; Viaplay Ladies Finish Open 2018; Czech Ladies Challenge 2018 and Belfius Ladies Open 2018.