Kolkata’s 16-year-old Anshul Mishra won the 123rd edition of the All India Amateur Championship conducted by the Chandigarh Golf Club after defeating his opponent Varun Muthappa. The young winner also got a chance to meet Chandigarh golfer Shubhankar Sharma, who had previously won the title in 2012.
Sharma, who has won four international titles so far and played in a total of four major championships in golf, applauded Mishra’s feat of winning the 123rd all India championship. The Kolkata golfer was overjoyed at the applause.
“To become the 123rd All India champion in the tournament’s history is a special feeling. Shubhankar sir had won in 2012 at the same age as mine and he has been one of my role models. To win the trophy at Jeev Milkha sir’s and Shubhankar sir’s home club makes the win more special. Both have been Indian golf’s torchbearers in recent times and I hope to emulate them once I turn professional in the coming years. I was travelling alone this week but my parents Amit Kumar Mishra and Archana Mishra were following my scores this week and they are delighted with the title,” said the youngster while speaking with The Indian Express.
Winner Anshul Mishra with runner up Varun Muthappa during 123 Amateur Golf championship played at Chandigarh golf club on Sunday. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh 15.12.2024)
A four-year-old Mishra had started playing golf at Royal Calcutta Golf Course, one of India’s oldest golf courses, in 2013. The youngster initially trained under coach Inderjit before he started under Chandigarh coach Jesse Grewal travelling to Chandigarh once in two months. Mishra had finished 17th in the US Kids World Junior Championship in 2018 before he finished second in the same tournament in 2018 played at Pinehurst Golf Course. Mishra won a total of nine tournaments in category A of the Indian Golf Union calendar and won his first category A title in the Eastern India Amateur Championship played at Golmuri Golf Course.
“I started playing golf at the age of four years and my father would take me to RCGC to train under Inderjit sir. RCGC course is one of the oldest in India and playing there always motivated me. In 2018, I started training under Jesse Grewal sir and would travel to Chandigarh once in two months. Finishing second in US Kids World Junior Championship at Pinehurst was a learning experience as well as motivating one for me. I plan to apply for US Collegiate Golf programme next year and will be turning professional after my bachelors. If I can qualify, playing at golf courses in USA will also make me learn a lot,” said Mishra.
The 16-year-old had finished 15th after the score play format before he scored a win over local lad Jaibir Singh in the pre-quarters and winning against Tushar Pannu in the quarters. In the semi-finals, the youngster scored a win over Anant Ahlawat of Haryana. On Sunday, Mishra and Mithappa played a total of 36 holes. It was a close final with Muthappa first taking the lead in the match- play format before Mishra took a 1up lead after the end of the 18 holes. Muthappa was almost certain to win the title when he just needed a birdie on the 31st hole to take the lead but Mishra played well to deny him the point and later won the match 4 and 3 to claim the title.
“Playing in the score play format as well as match play format in the same tournament means we have to adjust the game plan mentally as well to adjust to the formats. The course was playing a bit tight this week with the greens playing a bit trickier and tougher. My chipping and putting was fine and it helped me to win the title in the tournament,” said Mishra who idolises current world number one and two-time major winner Scott Alexander Scheffler.
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