Chandigarh golfer Mannat Brar tops Indian Golf Union merit list

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, January 13

Chandigarh golfer Mannat Brar has once again bagged the honour of topping the Indian Golf Union (IGU) merit list (Category B) issued recently.

Despite the Covid-hit season, 15-year-old Mannat topped the chart with a total score of 188 in Junior Girls’ Category B. In 2019, she had topped Category C (11 to 12 years) in the IGU Order of Merit with a total of 314 points. Last year, she claimed fourth position in the IGU Western Indian ladies and Junior Girls Golf Championship (Ahmedabad), claimed tied 2nd position in the IGU East Indian ladies and Junior Girls Golf Championship (Shillong), bagged title of the IGU Eastern Indian ladies and Junior Girls Golf Championship (Tollygunge) and finished tied 2nd in the IGU All-India Golf Championship (Ahmedabad).

“My aim is to play the LPGA tour and be the number 1 ladies golfer in the world. I also want to represent my country in the Asian Games and the Olympics,” said Mannat.

She said: “I aim to learn better golf through hard work. I focus on high-tech training and maintaining top physical fitness.”

Mannat was initially coached by Praveen Pathare in year 2018, a Category ‘C’ coach at Poona Golf Club. Thereafter, she started coaching with Jesse Grewal, Director, National Golf Academy of India.

Her father, Col JS Brar, a serving Colonel in the Indian Army and avid sports lover, is an inspiration behind her success. “Since childhood, my father has been interested in watching me playing any sport. I started with tennis, tae kwon do and other sports, but ended up building interest in golf. I used to practice (hitting straight drive) with him at the Pune Army Golf Course. It was in 2017, I improved my swing and started playing some serious golf,” said Mannat.

Revealing her future plans, she said: “Besides playing scheduled championships in India, I am looking forward to get some foreign exposure. Considering my aim to represent the nation, I need to scale up the level of training and preparations with a long-term plan for the next three years. The long-term plan is to prepare for playing professional tournaments with India’s top golfers at the age of 18 or 19 years.”