Indian pro golfer Anirban Lahiri is gearing up for his second shot at the Games, in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020, starting from 23 July.
Back in 2016, when golf made a return to the Games in Rio, Lahiri had teamed up with SSP Chawrasia, and this time, his partner will be Pune-born Udayan Mane, who is World No 356 and has participated in the Asian Tour and PGA Tour.
Lahiri finished in the 59th place in the final Olympic golf rankings released in June end, and will be among the 60 players who will take part in the event at Kasumigaseki Country Club from 29 July to 1 August during the Games.
Choosing Olympics over vying for a place in the top 125 in the FedEx Cup for the playoffs later in August was not easy for Lahiri, and he admitted he could not let go of the opportunity.
Lahiri is currently placed 118 in the rankings for FedEx Cup playoffs.
“It was a difficult decision and an easy one, too. I know it sounds contradictory but that's the truth. When I saw my name among the qualifiers, I was excited. But a decision had to be made. I sat with myself and asked, 'Why do I play the game?' I saw that among my priorities is playing for a medal in the Olympics. I could not let go of this opportunity,” said Lahiri in a virtual media interaction on Wednesday on the eve of the John Deere Classic tournament.
Mane, 30, meanwhile made the cut to the Olympics after Argentine golfer Emiliano withdrew from the Games. This will be Mane’s first appearance at the Games, and Lahiri, who has played a lot with Mane during the latter’s early days, expressed excitement and admitted he was looking forward to teaming up with Mane.
“I'm very excited. Look, it's going to be a life-changing experience for him. He's still in his early stage of his professional career. Obviously a great player, great potential. Like you mentioned, I've known him for almost 15 years now already, have kind of seen him develop from when he was a junior into a very good amateur and now into a consistent professional on the PGTI, and hopefully he can keep moving forward to the higher tours, maybe even join me one day here,” said Lahiri.
Lahiri, 34, revealed how he has been guiding Mane ahead of the Olympics. “I've just been trying to guide him through some of the processes. As professional golfers we get used to doing things our way. We get used to a certain routine and a certain habit and approaching events in a certain way, and then when you have an event — a bigger event like the Olympics, it's just completely different.
Lahiri also detailed on the role that various sports authorities would play in assisting Mane.
“There are so many different authorities involved. You have the Olympic Association of India, you have the Sports Authority of India, you have the Indian Golf Union, of course you have the International Golf Federation and you have Tokyo 2020, as well, as an organising body. So there are so many different aspects, lots of different angles, and for someone like Udayan who was also not expecting it and finds out with barely three, four weeks to go, it's been a bit overwhelming.
Lahiri also revealed how he has been guiding Udayan, who still has a long way to go in his career.
“So as a senior and as a friend I've tried to guide him, and as someone who's gone through the process myself, I've just tried to keep him focused on what he needs to do and how he needs to play his best and try and stay away from all the other things that come with an event like this, the other noise and the other distractions. That's about it,” he added.
Anirban also revealed that he would have fellow golfer Chikkarangappa as his caddie.
“I'm really happy, very happy that India is going to be fully represented in the men's event. Hopefully I can correct what I felt like I couldn't do last time, and obviously Mane being with me, it'll be nice. Also having my dear friend, my little brother Chikkarangappa caddying for me is also something that I'm looking forward to. We'll have three of us there, all we just are students, all motivated with the same goal, which is to bring glory to our country,” he added.
Action from PGA Tour - John Deere Classic - D1 will be LIVE on EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD from 00:30 Hrs (12:30 am IST) onwards on Friday, 9th July, 2021. Eurosport channel can also be live streamed on the discovery+ app.
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