Sports
Women golfers Vani, Sharmila to lead Indian charge (Preview)
Gurgaon: India’s top women golfers Vani Kapoor and Sharmila Nicollet will look to give a tough fight to the world’s leading stars at the Hero Women’s Indian Open that starts at the DLF Golf and Country Club here from Thursday.
While Gwladys Nocera of France is back to defend her title, a host of other stars, including former champion Thidapa Suwannapura of Thailand, British duo Trish Johnson and Melissa Reid, and American star attraction Cheyenne Woods, will also be in the fray.
Gwladys, currently occupying the fifth spot on the Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit, has been in good form, and is expected to do an encore after clinching her first Indian Open title at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) last year.
The French professional will, however, face a strong challenge from Melissa Reid (winner of the 2015 Turkish Airlines Open), Suwannapura and Cheyenne, the niece of American great Tiger Woods.
The tournament, tri-sanctioned by the LET, the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI), will feature 114 players from 31 countries.
However, the tournament is yet to see an Indian winner and the fans will be hoping for a local talent to win the title and get an exemption to play on the LET.
The Indian challenge will be spearheaded by Vani and Sharmila. Vani has been in stellar form this season and leads the Hero Order of Merit.
“The Indian Open is one of the most important tournaments in my calendar and it is a privilege to play alongside the likes of Cheyenne Woods, Melissa Reid and other great players. This being my home course gives me a slight edge but it is one of the trickiest courses I have ever played on so it is going to be a challenging week,” Vani said in a release.
“However, I have prepared well for the tournament and am expecting some good results by the end of the week.”
Sharmila is in good form post her win at the Jaypee Greens last month and will be eager to claim her first victory on the LET. Another Indian golfer to watch out for will be Vaishavi Sinha, who Vaishavi finished fifth last year.
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.
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