Tee time

Shona A Singh

At Rio, golf will make a comeback to the Olympics after a hiatus of 112 years. Fortunately for India, the historic return has come at a time when the sport is looking up in the country and the Indian golfers, led by Anirban Lahiri, are taking big strides on the fairways. And three golfers making the Rio cut — Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia in the men’s section and Aditi Ashok in the women’s section — reflects the fact well.

The trio, understandably, is quite excited at becoming the first Indian professional golfers to participate in the Olympic Games. “I am very excited to be going to the Olympics as this is something that none of us has done before,” says Chawrasia. “When we play other tournaments, there are course records to beat and the golfers who have achieved great feats to catch up with. But it’s going to be totally different at the Olympics as we are going to be the first ones to participate in 112 years.”

Lahiri, who will be the player to watch out for from India’s perspective, will head into the Olympics after playing in the PGA Championship. However, there’s no way he will miss the opening ceremony as he is most excited about marching along with Chawrasia and the rest of the Indian contingent. “This is something you earn and I’m not missing this experience,” he said when the team was announced.

Been there

Lahiri knows what it is like to be part of the national contingent at a big multi-sport event. He represented India at the 2006 Doha Asian Games and returned with a silver medal. That experience will stand him in good stead at Rio.

Besides, Lahiri has been playing much of his golf in the fiercely competitive PGA Tour for the last two years. Nothing else could have prepared him better for the Olympics. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I hope we return with a medal as there is nothing bigger than these Games. And if we do get a medal, it will be a great boost for golf in India,” said Lahiri.

Chawrasia recently suffered a neck injury and had to take a cortisone injection to get fit for the Games. That aside, he has been working on his putting and will play an event in Thailand before heading to Brazil.

“Indian professionals do not get many opportunities to play golf in South America, so I am looking forward to the experience — going there and playing golf in that part of the world and competing in the biggest sporting event,” he said.

Jeev Milkha Singh can relate to the emotions the golfers must be going through as he, too, had set his eyes on qualifying for the Games and becoming an Olympian. “Since my father has also represented India at the Olympics, the desire to participate was all the more intense. However, SSP and Anirban are deserving players and they are both at the top of their game right now,” he said.

Golf at Rio

Number of Gold medals 2

1 men

1 women

Event Dates

Men: Aug 11–14

Women: Aug 17–20

Indian angle

India will have three golfers in the event — Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia are in the men’s field while Aditi Ashok will compete in the women’s competition

Format

• The event will be conducted in the four-round strokeplay format. The golfer who finishes the circuit with the lower number of shots at the end of the four rounds of 18 holes each will be the winner.  In the event of a tie for any of the first three positions, a three-hole playoff will determine the medal winners
• The golfers qualified on the basis of their world ranking as of July 11, 2016. A total of 60 golfers qualified in each of the men's and women's events
• There is a limit of four players per country
• The organisers have made sure that at least one golfer from the host nation and each geographical region (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania) qualified for the tournament.

Favourites

• Golf is making a return to the Olympics after 112 years. Several top golfers have withdrawn from the event due to various reasons, and it’s difficult to pick up favourites. The world’s top four players — Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy — are among those who’ve withdrawn. Sweden's Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson of USA are the top two golfers in the men’s field. Rickie Fowler, Danny Willett, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia are also in the field.
• USA, with 7 golfers (4 men, 3 women) in the fray, and South Korea (6 golfers, 2 men, 4 women) have the biggest squads at the golf competition. 
• Among the women, Lydia Ko of New Zealand is the favourite, but the South Korean trio of Kim Sei-young, Amy Yang and Chun In-gee are expected to put up a great challenge

They say

This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I hope we return with a medal as there is nothing bigger than these Games. And if we do get a medal, it will be a great boost for golf in India.  — Anirban Lahiri

When we play other tournaments, there are course records to beat and the golfers who have achieved great feats to catch up with. But it's going to be totally different at the Olympics as we are going to be the first ones to participate in 112 years. — SSP Chawrasia

Short Takes

Brazil to review Olympics torch security     

RIO DE JANEIRO: Rio’s top security official has vowed to review security for the Olympics torch after rioting protesters blocked the relay ceremony and apparently extinguished the flame. The violent clashes late Wednesday in Angra dos Reis, a coastal resort south of Rio, cast a shadow over final preparations for South America's first Olympics, which start August 5. In another worry for organisers, Rio metro employees threatened yesterday to go on strike on the eve of the Games if they do not get a 9.83 per cent salary raise, raising the possibility of transport chaos for some 500,000 tourists expected to attend.

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