Telengana teen Sneha Singh does the nationals double

By Rahul Banerji

Sneha Singh completed a double of national titles, adding the 103^rd All India Ladies Amateur Championship crown to the junior championship she had won earlier this month.

In the 36-hole match-play final, Sneha edged out Delhi’s Hitashee Bakshi 1-up, leaving it virtually the 35^th hole before sealing her victory at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club on Sunday evening,

It was a see-saw battle all the way with first one, and then the other holding the advantage. The golf too, observers who watched the finale said, was of the highest quality with both girls completely focused on the job at hand.

On the Indian Golf Union’s merit list for Category A girls, Hitashee and Sneha are first and second, a pointer towards the intense competition and standard of play.

Noted one Facebook user, “The match will go down in the history of Indian women’s golf as one of the most hard-fought and interesting. Well played both the finalists.”

“Winning a double in the national championships in the same year is a great feeling and all the hard work I have put in has paid off,” Sneha told Teetimetales.

Early promise

Interestingly, both finalists are just 15, indicative of what promises to be a bright future for the duo.

While Sneha is coached by her father Sanjay Singh, now based in Hyderabad, Hitashee was mentored by Amit Luthra’s The Golf Foundation for a substantial period of her early years in the game.

Match-play rankings were decided on the basis of the two-day strokeplay event that was held earlier with the top 32 advancing to the knockout championship out of the 48 entrants in all.

Punjab’s Kirti Chowhan topped the preliminary competition with a two-day aggregate of 145 (73-72), one shot ahead of Vidhatri Urs of Karnataka (75-71, 146). While Hitashee finished fifth with a 147 (74-73) aggregate, Sneha was 10^th placed on 150 (80-70).

There was possibly a hint of what was to come as Sneha’s second day round of 2-under 70 was the best recorded in the strokeplay competition.

In the semi-finals, Sneha got the better of Maharashtra’s Nishna Patel 1 up while Hitashee beat Chandigarh’s Puneet Kaur Bajwa 2 up.

Junior title win

In early December, Sneha annexed the all India Junior championship that was played at the Jaypee Greens in Greater Noida.

Sneha trains at the Hyderabad Golf Club and was recently presented with a golf set by its president, J. Vikram Rao in recognition of being the only amateur this year to win on the women’s professional tour earlier in the year.

“It is the dream of every golfer to win the All India Junior championship and I’m happy to achieve this feat,” the 15-year-old, was quoted as having said then.

Results

Matchplay: Final: Sneha Singh (Telengana) bt Hitashee Bakshi (Delhi) 1 up. Semi-finals: Sneha Singh (Telengana) bt Nishna Patel (Maharashtra) 1 up; Hitashee Bakshi (Delhi) bt Puneet Kaur Bajwa (Chandigarh) 2 up.

Quarter-finals: Sneha Singh (Telengana) bt Vidhatri Urs (Karnataka) 1 up; Nishna Patel (Maharashtra) bt Khushi Hooda (Delhi) 2 up; Hitashee Bakshi (Delhi) bt Sneha Sharan (Karnataka) 2&1; Puneet Kaur Bajwa (Chandigarh) bt Avani Prashanth (Karnataka) 6&4.

Strokeplay (top-10, tied scores decided on countback): 1. Kirti Chowhan (Punjab) 73-72, 145; 2. Vidhatri Urs (Karnataka) 75-71, 146; 3. Ivana Shah (Maharashtra) 73-73, 146; 4. Sneha Sharan (Karnataka) 75-72, 147; 5. Hitashee Bakshi (Delhi) 74-73, 147.

6. Khushi Hooda (Delhi) 71-76, 147; 7. Jasmine Shekhar (Karnataka) 76-73, 149; 8. Chitrangada Singh (Bengal) 75-74, 149; 9. Avani Prashanth (Karnataka) 74-75, 149; 10. Sneha Singh (Telengana) 80-70, 150.

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