Indian Open: Olympians to headline field

Neha Tripathi (from left), Amandeep Drall and Vani Kapoor at the launch of the Hero Women’s Indian Open in New Delhi. (Photo: BIPLAB BANERJEE)

A galaxy of stars, including 13 Olympians from the Rio Games, will be in action when the 10th edition of the Hero Women’s India Open gets under way at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon from November 7 to 13.

Another high point of this year’s event will be the presence of LPGA stalwart Brittany Grace Lincicome in the star-studded field of 114, which will also have former champions Emily Kristine Pedersen (2016), Gwladys Nocera (2014), Beth Allan — winner of the ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters 2015 — and Scottish Open champion Isabelee Boineau.

Brazil golfers Victoria Lovelady and Miriam Nagl, who teed off the women’s golf competitions at the Rio Games, have also confirmed their participation in the $400,000 event.

Aditi Ashok — the youngest in the Rio field — and Vani Kapoor will spearhead the home challenge in the event. They will be joined by Amandeep Drall, Sharmila Nicollet, Neha Tripathi among others.

WGAI secretary general Champika Sayal said with the progress of women’s golfers in the country, they were “hopeful of an Indian winner this time around”.

Vani, who has won six of 10 events on the domestic tour this year, was upbeat about her form, saying: “Aditi has been in good form and I too have won six titles. DLF is my home course, so I won’t rule myself out as being one of the favourites. There are also some changes made to the course — shortened holes, bit reshaped and the greens have softened a bit.”

WGAI urges govt support Not happy with the way the sport is promoted in the country, WGAI president Kavita Singh urged the government to nurture talent at the grass-root level keeping in mind the Tokyo Olympics.

Kavita, a former national golfer, felt India should follow in the footsteps of China and Korea, who groom and take care of their players’ every need from the age of three or five.

“In countries such as China and Korea, the way they go about nurturing young talent, we also need to do that. We want all the support, facilities, equipment and golf courses for our players. We need academies across the country to nurture players from villages and towns,” a fuming Kavita said.