In an exclusive interview with 4moles.com, proud mother Bakhtawar Saini reveals about how Golf has been a game-changer for Ranveer.

.

18-year-old Ranveer Singh Saini’s Golf Odyssey is a rare story of inspiration. Refused to get trapped in the dark alleys of depression, the Golfing phenomenon – armed with an indomitable spirit - triumphed over autism to create history in the world of Golf. Breaking new grounds, Ranveer Singh Saini and Monica Jajoo created history by bagging the silver medal at Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi. Earlier in 2015, the duo set a new record by winning the Gold medal at the event in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

 

It’s certainly no mean feat to soar beyond conventional barriers and achieve your chosen dream. That explains how the resolute Golfer has been determined to put autism behind and redefine Golf in his own way.

 

 

 

How Golf changed his life completely

 

 

 

 

 

Diagnosed with autism at the age of 2, Ranveer defied all odds to move ahead. However, his world was confined to his parents and caretakers. Explains the proud mother, “Ranveer had no friends when he was small because of his behaviour issues which were accompaniments of autism.  This was the time his father decided to involve him in a sport which he could play all by himself. That is how golf came into his life along with his coach Anitya Chand. We had no expectations from the coach. It was a patience game for us as parents and him as a coach. Ranveer would get distracted with a flutter of a bee or birds flying or other golfers practising in the academy. Gradually the contact of the club with the ball happened and we were happy.”

 

 

 

On teaching the Golf etiquette

 

 

She goes on to share, “Golf is a gentleman's sport - so with Ranveer flapping his hands in excitement or speaking loudly was difficult a moment to explain to other golfers. We as parents took it upon us to teach him golfing etiquette through worksheets, videos and practical demos. Time passed ..his coach would have either of us for every session of his and we would translate the coach's instructions in a simplified way to Ranveer. Gradually, we slowly withdrew ourselves from their sessions and then the bonding between the coach and Ranveer started increasing. Today he is one of his favourite students and every member in the DLF Golf & Country Club is fond of Ranveer and encourages and motivates him to play well and play with them. The club staff and the players have made this sport a truly inclusive sport for him. He has started participating in local and club tournaments and has even a feather in his cap as a golfer of a Hole-in-One in his list of achievements.”

 

 

Indeed his crown is bejewelled with incredible achievements.

 

 

 

Armed with an autistic genius streak of calculating past and future calendar dates

 

 

 

 

Not many know but the young Golfer has an autistic genius streak of calculating past and future calendar dates and can in a fraction of a minute tell you which day of any year your birthday falls. “Yes, he has this rare talent but he finds doing a simple multiplication or division sum difficult. This is because kids with autism find it difficult to follow hard-core academics. Hence though he is in a regular school, he still follows an integrated modified curriculum,” shares the proud mother.

 

 

 

An independent individual with many talents

 

 

Ranveer besides being a good golfer is also a self-disciplined boy and believes in being punctual and sticks to his time and routine. “He loves cooking and has been nurtured into being an independent boy who can churn all his 3 meals by himself if the need arises. He is fond of cooking and prefers cooking north Indian cuisine and his speciality is Butter Chicken with Dal Makhani,” shares Bakhtawar Saini.

 

 

 

He is an also a  gifted perfect-pitch kid who has God's gift of identifying any musical chord being played on any instrument just by the ear...he hears any song or music and can tell us which chord the song or instrument is being played on.

 

 

Ranveer has always been an inspiration for all around him. He is the one who motivates his parents too to be on time and be dedicated to his sport.

 

 

The road ahead

 

 

Ranveer, after having been the first Indian golfer to have won two successive medals at the level of World Games viz one medal in LA world games 2015 and World Games Abu Dhabi 2019, will now be proceeding to Macau next month to play Asia Pacific Golf Masters which will have golfers from over 19 countries participating and where age limit is not the criteria.

 

It’s indeed inspiring to see rare gems like Ranveer who’ve faced enormous challenges in life but still refuse to be beaten.