FEATURE

Gunning for Glory: Shubhankar Sharma

By Shaurya Singh

With the inaugural appearance at the

Olympics, Golf has finally caught the attention
of the nation, and more juniors are taking to
the game.
An Indian player who is at the forefront of the
youth revolution is Shubhankar Sharma. The
precocious twenty year old is the number one
ranked professional golfer on the Professional
Golf Tour in India. Exhibiting maturity and
poise way beyond his years, the young man has
already won twice this year.
He comes across as a rare breed of professional
Golfer; possessing masterful skill and drive
as well as respectful and humble persona.
In a sport that is lone and individual, he has
often set an example to follow. His even keeled
demeanor in both defeat and victory, has been
lauded by fellow competitors.
Shubhankar was the first one to congratulate
me after my win at the Take Solutions classic,
he always has positive things to say about all
his competitors. With his attitude and game
I am sure he will have a long and successful
career said fellow professional Khalin Joshi.

The lessons of youth

Growing up in a military environment instilled

the requisite qualities in young Shubhankar.
Father Col ML Sharma played the role of being
a mentor and friend to perfection. Lessons of
youth have paid rich dividends for Shubbu (as
he is affectionately called by his peers).
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of
discipline and regimentation in my formative
years, the lessons I learnt playing Golf with my
father have helped me in performing under
high pressure situations. He and his father
used to go for long runs, play Golf rounds
and exercise together, I learnt that mental
strength is a necessary quality in a solider and
my father had always stressed upon the same.
It wasnt always easy trying to balance being
a friend, a father as well as a mentor but I
think Shubhankar always had a penchant for
imbibing the positives and has always been a
keen learner said Col ML Sharma.

The routine of a champion

Even though I am playing well now, I am

always looking for ways at getting better. To
this end, I travel regularly to Chandigarh and
train with my coach Jesse Garewal. My routine
consists of long sessions on the practice range,
mental training and work on my physical
fitness and stamina. I am also paying special
attention to my short game and doing a wide
variety of drills to make my chipping better, a
strong short game is what separates the field
towards the end of a tournament and I am not
leaving any stone unturned to perfect mine

Mission 2020 Tokyo

Having already notched two victories under

his belt this season, Shubbu has his sights

on bigger prizes. I want to build on my

performances this year and aim to play
more tournaments abroad. To compete with
the best he played the played the US open
qualifying at Surrey in England the cold
damp conditions were a new experience for
me, I could not qualify but the experience has
made me a better player, playing alongside
the likes of Padraig Harrington and Gary Stall
was a great experience. Shubbu could not
qualify for the Olympics squad but that did
not dampen his spirits. Watching Anirban and
SSP Chowrasia at the Olympics was one of the
proudest moments as a professional golfer and
an Indian. Both are excellent ambassadors for
Indian Golf, and I am hope to emulate them
and bring laurels to the nation at the 2020
Tokyo Olympics.

GolfPlus

Thanks to the media exposure and coverage

to sports other than Cricket, people are
recognizing that sportsmen need support
during the formative years and when they
are preparing. Post facto recognition and
accolades are good but they do little to create
champions, many corporate houses have lent
their support to Golf and are playing their part
in developing the game. Shubhankar has been
lucky as his talent is being augmented by his
sponsors support, I am thankful to DLF, Take
Solutions and Indorama for supporting my
endeavors towards becoming a better player.
With the bigger companies getting involved
in Golf there is a very real possibility that India
could be a realistic medal contender in the next
Olympics, and young Shubhankar may well be
in the midst.

SEPTEMBER

2016

65