By Rahul Banerji
The stage is set for edition three of the flagship US Kids Golf Indian Championships with 91 youngsters from eight countries in all set to compete.
The three-day competition from December 6 to 8 is one where the players earn World Amateur Golf Ranking and Junior Scoreboard points that play a crucial role in creating career paths.
Players also earn priority points to help gain spots at the 2024 US Kids European Championships in Scotland and the 2024 US Kids World Championships in Pinehurst next year.
Apart from hosts India, entries have been received from Canada, the US, Kenya, Malaysia, Singapore, UAE, and the UK.
Wide spectrum
Competitions will cover eight age groups, for boys from Under 7 to the 15-18 years section and five age groups for girls from age eight to the 15-18 years category. The entries include 67 boys and 24 girls.
The three-day at the Classic Golf and Country Resort will have age-specific yardages in all sections.
Indian golfers, who have had some excellent results in US Kids European and US Kids World Championships in 2023, will look forward to more success.
“Playing at home will be a big advantage for Indian golfers, as many have played their competitions on US Kids Local Tour at the Classic course,” US Kids Golf India president Rajesh Srivastava, said.
Talent source
“The increase in the number of players on the local Tour and the excellent scores makes us believe that US Kids Golf India has brought to the fore some very good talent. We want our youngsters to qualify for the European and World Championships.”
He added, “The advent of US Kids Golf series in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand has increased interest in various parts of Asia. We will be expanding to more countries, and we have plans for a US Kids Golf Asia Tour.”
Some of the top Indian challengers are Nihal Cheema in Boys 7, Kabir Goyal, Indian Championship winner in Boys 7, who has now moved into Boys 8, and Adit Veeramachaneni, now in Boys 10 after having won the Boys 9 in 2022.
Similarly, the Boys 11 Category will feature Vidit Aggarwal, who won the Boys 10 title last year.
Healthy field
The Boys 13-14 event has drawn a large field including Prince Bainsla, Arshvant Srivastava, Ayan Dubey, Sohang Har Kantor and Zorawar Singh Toor.
The defending champion in Boys 15-18 Ishaan Ahuja will face Pritish Singh Karayat, winner of the Boys 13-14 title in 2022.
Other strong Indians in Boys 15-18 will include the likes of Vihaan Malhotra, Anshul Bhatti, Veer Ganapathy, and Manyaveer Bhadoo.
India’s top stars in various Girls’ age groups will include Ahana Shah (Girls 8), Naina Kapoor (Girls 11-12) and Ananya Sood and Parnika Sharma in Girls 13-14.
Also read: Zorawar, Amaira and Aanya score trebles at US Kids Golf North
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