September 7th 2010, New Delhi: Golf like all true sports is a game that enjoys the special responsibility of not only getting the golfer to wield the golf club effortlessly, but moulding the character at a much deeper level as reflected in Grantland Rice’s enunciation. The universally popular game enjoys special promotion under the wing of The Indian Golf Union, the governing body for golf in India which has ambitious plans to take golf to the grass root level for talented aspirants.

In keeping with this mission Mr. Ashit M. Luthra (President – The Indian Golf Union) introduced the members of the Indian golfing team participating in the Asian Games and Eishenhower Cup at a press conference hosted in the capital this afternoon, as follows:

Men : Rashid Khan Abhijeet Chaddha Rahul Bajaj Abhinav Lohan Ashbeer Saini (Reserve)

Ladies : Shreya Ghei Vani Kapoor Gurbani Singh Shradhanjaii Singh (Reserve)

The National Coach Mr. Peter Murphy says, “I am glad that the team has been chosen early which gives adequate time for the team members to travel, train and live together. The team members both boys and girls have had the opportunity and time to bond as one cohesive unit. Each individual has now experienced and understood the importance of pulling for one another, especially when the chips are down. This will have a positive impact on teams’ performance.”

On the selection Mr. Ashit Luthra said, “As the standard for selection is getting increasingly stringent, The Indian Golf Union follows a policy of inviting players based on the Merit list to participate in trials in a completely fair and transparent manner. Thus this process has, by and large, been free from controversies.’ On broad basing the game, he added, ”The Indian Golf Union is in advanced dialogue with many State Governments to set up public golf courses as well as learning academies. The targets are to set up an academy in every state capital within the next three years and to introduce golf as a part of the school curriculum and provide access at driving ranges to a large number of school children”.

At the press conference, t-shirts for the team designed by Kolkata based designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh, were launched. On this Mr. Luthra said, ‘For the first time The Union has commissioned a designer to take a fresh look at the apparel worn by the Indian Golf teams. Kiran Uttam Ghosh has successfully taken this lifestyle sport and laced it with style. The uniform designed by her has been appreciated by the entire team”

The Indian Golf Union clearly stands poised to further strengthen its several initiatives and serving the nation in its endeavour of helping amateur golfers discover their rightful place under the sun.

Mr. Ashit Luthra & Ms. Kiran Uttam Ghosh with the Golfing Teams of India for Asian Games