New Delhi, Oct 18 Rachana Bahadur, advisor to the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), has called for greater participation of women in golf, describing the sport as a potential equaliser while expressing confidence that increased exposure to international competition will help Indian professionals make their mark globally.
Bahadur, who attended the DP World India Championship at the Delhi Golf Club, said the presence of leading international golfers and young spectators reflected the growing appeal of the sport in India.
She also welcomed the growing scale of the tournament, saying the international flavour it brings to the country is encouraging for Indian golf.
“It has been absolutely incredible to be here and watch the players. I feel incredibly proud that I’m actually at DGC, in our country, in India, watching top golf,” she said.
“I feel really happy to see a lot of young kids here, cheering on the top players. To see this international flavour coming into India makes me very proud and very happy. I just hope the numbers keep increasing.”
Bahadur said the tournament had grown significantly in scale and expressed hope that its reach would continue to expand in the coming years.
She also backed Indian professionals to benefit from competing alongside some of the world’s leading players, saying such opportunities would help raise the country’s standing in international golf.
“The beauty about such tournaments is that our international players get a chance to see how much golf is loved in this country. We love cricket, but we love golf, too,” she said.
“For our Indian pros to get exposure to great players, play with them and spend time with them, all of this, the more we do, the more we’re going to come on the global scale. I have no doubt in my mind.”
Bahadur also highlighted the participation of Nepal’s Hemant in the tournament, saying international representation was a positive sign for the sport.
However, she stressed the need to create more opportunities for women golfers, pointing to the achievements of Indian women professionals in recent times.
“We’re having an amazing year for Indian women and golf,” she said.
Bahadur praised the women golfers’ focus and determination as they began winning titles, citing the example of Asian Games gold medallist Pranavi Urs.
Despite the encouraging progress, she believes more needs to be done to bring women into the sport and help them establish themselves professionally.
“I feel like they are few and far between, and I think the sport has a tremendous opportunity to be an equaliser from an inclusivity perspective,” she said.
“I’m not sure what’s holding us back, but I do want to understand how to bring our young women golfers to the fore more, and for them to focus a bit more on the game and really play it in partnership with young men professionals. So we have an opportunity there, for sure.
(PTI News)
