Chowrasia squares the circle

The unassuming golfer from Kolkata has risen from humble beginnings to carve a niche for himself. His amazing victory in the Indian Masters has opened up a whole new world for him, writes V. Krishnaswamy

It took just a few nano seconds for the putt to roll into the cup. Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia bent down, picked up the ball and threw it into the crowd. It was an action replay from his eight wins on the domestic tour.

But this was different, the biggest win of his career — the $2.5 million EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters. With it a whole new world opened up for him.

As he walked to the scorers’ tent to submit his card, there were shouts of "Check your card again".

Then the cameras, the mikes and everything followed him. That’s when emotions took over.

Leaning on my shoulder, he kept muttering, "What have I done, what have I done?" I told him he had just won the biggest event ever in India. As if he did not know! "Yes, I know, but I can’t believe it," he repeated. "I never even dreamt of this."

Suddenly, he was gazing far away, as if his whole life was unfolding in front of him. It probably was. Just as snatches of his life’s incidents were running through my mind. These were snatches he had narrated many times to me, on trips abroad and at home.

The first trip away from home to Patna; the first night in a hotel; the hops across the wall bordering the Royal Calcutta Golf Club to practise putting on the greens in secret and at night; his first tryst with fame when he finished second to Arjun Atwal in 1999 Indian Open; his first flight abroad; the unsigned card and tears in Taiwan in 2006; the sleepless night before the playoff he lost to Jyoti Randhawa a few weeks later; and now this...receiving an India Gate-shaped trophy, an Omega watch from Abhishek Bachchan and a cheque for Rs 1.6 crore. Above all the chance to play anywhere in Asia and Europe, till 2010!

Nervous moments

Life has changed in one week, but it has taken 10 years in coming for the son of a mali.

Chowrasia cannot still decide what made him more nervous — the first time he left home to board a train to Patna for a golf tournament or when his name was called as the winner of the Indian Masters at the Delhi Golf Club.

"It was the first time (1998) I was leaving home and I was nervous. I had never travelled alone and this time it was my greatest win, a win that will take a long time to sink in," said Chowrasia.

There was a time, when his knees shook at the thought of travelling alone or taking a flight. He would get even more nervous filling travel documents.

But now he has no such fears. "I have been fortunate to have friends like Rahil Gangjee, Gaurav Ghei and Shiv Kapur who travel on the Asian Tour regularly," he says.

"They also give me good advice. Last year, when I started thinking of saving my card (finishing in the top 60), Shiv told me to stop thinking small. He said I was a player who should be thinking of winning and not just making cuts."

So near yet...

There was a time he was happy to be second to Arjun Atwal, like back in 1999 Indian Open. "Arjun was a big star in Kolkata and I was just 19 and only in my second year. He had won lots as a pro and as a top amateur and I had never played amateur golf and straight away become a pro. And I was happy to make that much of money (about $22,000)," he once recalled in the sylvan surroundings at Amby Valley.

Then in 2006, he faced the first big test on how to handle misfortune. He was five shots ahead of the field at the Mercuries Masters in Taiwan and was halfway through his maiden title. But, inside the scorers’ tent, excitement got the better of him and he forgot to sign his card. And the penalty was disqualification.

He was inconsolable. It took mature friends like Ghei and Gangjee to see him through that crisis. He flew back home to recover from that shock.

A few weeks later he was again in contention at the Hero Honda Indian Open in 2006 but went into a playoff after missing a 15-ft birdie putt for an outright win on the 72nd hole. "I got nervous and missed the line," he said.

Chowrasia retired to his room thinking about that miss. The next morning he lost in the second playoff hole to Randhawa.

Home and dry

Did he know it was his time when he came to the course on February 10? "No," Chowrasia says with simplicity. "I was nervous again, but this time I got a two-putt par and I was home."

Yet, his real home was away in Kolkata and he was thinking about it. However, there was a flight to catch — to Indonesia. But, he was drained, mentally and physically. He told me, "I can’t play next week. I want to go to Kolkata." On February 11, he flew home.

Every time he had left home, he had a dream. This time he had achieved it and was returning home a winner and richer by Rs 16 million in money. But the experience was worth more than that. — IANS

Thrilling fields
Sanjeev Singh Bariana

The magic of the Kila Raipur Sports Festival, which is enjoyed by thousands of spectators from all over Punjab every year, has to be seen to be believed.

The zest of 80-year-olds as they egg on lads, horses, bullock-carts, dogs and tractor drivers of their village to reach first at the finishing line, the flushed faces of sturdy men pulling the rope in a do-or-die way during the tug-of-war, and the charm of the beauties swaying to the pulsating rhythm of gidda are striking images at the festival displaying the vigour of the "Land of the Five Rivers".

Foreigners with cameras can be seen scrambling all over the field, trying to capture the fleeting moments from all possible angles during the prestigious village sports event. Participants definitely want to adorn the victory stand, but what really turns them on is the exhibition of strong sense of pride.

Scores of village fairs have come up in the adjoining villages, but none can match the immaculate organisation and flavour of original myriad competitions seen at Kila Raipur.

The nihangs (Guru ki Fauj) are the cynosure of all eyes as they display their superhuman ability in horse riding, martial arts, tent-pegging, and gatka skills. Maghar Singh, a nihang who rides two horses at the same time, has virtually become an icon at the fair. The crowd stands up and applauds every time he commences his run astride two horses, one brown and the other spotless white.

Varied are the feats of uncommon physical strength — bending two cm thick steel rods with the stomach, balancing a bicycle tied on top of a pole placed on the mouth, pulling a tractor or a car by the teeth or hair, allowing a loaded tractor to move over their muscular bellies and lifting a super-heavy plough by the skin of their teeth provide a glimpse into the world of the uncommon during the mela.

Taking a cue from the small festivals in adjoining villages, philanthropist Inder Singh Grewal took the initiative and helped villagers launch the Kila Raipur Sports Festival in 1933. Over the past 75 years, only the performers and certain events have changed. The joie de vivre and the celebration of strength and endurance has remained undiminished.

Clearly, the biggest draw of the event is the bullock-cart race. A racing bull costs around Rs 3-4 lakh. "Money is not the question. Owning and grooming a champion bull is a passion," said Naib Singh, winner of the cart race this year.

The event is telecast on a major sports TV channel every year and the last day this year’s race found a place on Doordarshan’s national network.

Sukhvir Grewal, chief organiser of the "Rural Olympics", said, "The festival is run mostly through donations. It is the sense of belonging to the place and an urge to exhibit the rural strength and colour which is the driving force behind this voluntary exercise."

Villagers donate money and collect necessary material for langar during the event. They even prepare the food themselves.

In the evenings, the folk singers, who don’t charge a single penny for their performance, take the centre-stage. The exuberant dance to beats of the dhol, accompanied by constant thumping of their thighs by the lads, electrifies the atmosphere.

The Grewal Sports Association has been able to tie up with certain multi-nationals for financial aid for the mela. This is probably the only fair of its kind to have made the sponsors sit up and take notice. Besides being excellent sportspersons themselves, a majority of the organisers have held important posts in various fields.

Fatehbir on a roll
Donald Banerjee

Chandigarh’s Fatehbir Dhaliwal is making his presence felt on the world junior golf circuit.

Eighteen-year-old Fatehbir Dhaliwal of Chandigarh fought windy conditions on a tough course to clinch the second spot in the under-19 International Junior Golf Tour (IJGT) on the par-72 greens of the Bent Tree Country Club at Sarasota, Florida. His repeat one-under-par 71 in the second and final round on February 10 saw him finishing four strokes behind Nick Jones of Florida at two-under-par 142.

This performance on a course which has ponds, streams and wildlife was not a fluke. Barely a week earlier, Fatehbir had carded a three-under-par 69 in the Future Collegians World Tour, which sets the standards for US and world junior rankings. This one-round triumph came on the Legends at Orange Lake greens in Florida.

Being groomed at the renowned David Leadbetter Academy in Florida, Fatehbir has made his mark on the international junior golf circuit. And to his surprise, the boy found David Leadbetter himself congratulating him after his three-under triumph at the Orange Lake greens.

In the IJGT tournament, Nick Jones and John-Christian Templeton shared the opening day’s lead of 69, with Fatehbir was tied for the third spot at 71 with Jordan Meltzer and Michael Kerns. But in the second round, the windy conditions made play difficult. While Nick and Fatehbir repeated their opening day’s scores, overnight joint leader Templeton was unable to overcome the tough conditions, playing a four-over-par 76.

Fatehbir, who did his matriculation from St John’s School, was a regular at the Chandigarh Golf Club and the Chandigarh Golf Range, where he honed his skills under Jesse Grewal, the coach who has produced many international golfers.

His performance got him into the David Leadbetter Academy from where students play on the world junior circuit. Fatehbir’s show in the Future Collegians Golf Tour should hold him in good stead as the ranking from this circuit is the platform for scholarships to leading colleges in the USA.

He has been showing consistent form. Playing in the Grand Cypress Classic on the under-19 FEWT circuit in December last year, he fired a one-under-par 143 to finish second.

He is all set to rule the junior circuit before he turns 19 on November 15 this year. His father, Deepinder Singh Dhaliwal, gives all the credit to Fatehbir and Jesse Grewal.

In the news

Young gun

Rohit Sharma has emerged as a dependable batsman in Twenty20 as well as one-dayers. — AFP photo

Rohit Sharma is only 20 years old, yet he looks as mature and compact as a veteran batsman. His performance in the ongoing one-day tri-series has been quite impressive so far. In the match against Sri Lanka at Canberra, he held the Indian innings together with a gritty 70 not out off 64 balls. Unfortunately, his knock went in vain as India lost the rain-hit encounter.

Earlier, he guided India to victory in the Melbourne match versus Australia, top-scoring with an undefeated 39. The team looked in a spot of bother after losing five wickets, but Rohit and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni saw India home without any further loss.

In the opening game against Australia at Brisbane, he contributed 29 runs and shared a 65-run stand with Gautam Gambhir after India had lost Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar cheaply.

The Nagpur boy announced his arrival on the international scene during the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last year. He smashed 50 not out (including seven fours and two sixes) in a low-scoring match against the hosts, and then scored a crucial unbeaten 30 in the final versus Pakistan.

Rohit has the ability to pace his innings according to the situation of the match. He can curb his strokeplay if required. If he keeps going great guns, it won’t be long before he is inducted into the Test side. — Agencies