Widely popular golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar have confirmed their places to represent India in the men’s golf competition at the Paris Olympic Games. The confirmation came based on the final men’s Olympic Golf Ranking list published on Tuesday, where Sharma and Bhullar were placed 48th and 54th respectively. Their rankings are derived from their positions in the Official World Golf Rankings, where Sharma stands at 219 and Bhullar at 261, making them the top two Indian golfers.
Both of them — Sharma and Bhullar — are Arjuna Award winners and are all set to make their Olympic debuts. The selection has been confirmed by the Professional Golf Tour of India. The women’s team, which could include Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar, will be confirmed over the coming days.
The men’s golf event at the Paris Olympics will have 60 players, which is scheduled to take place from August 1 to 4 at Le Golf National. This will be one of the largest events in the careers of both Sharma and Bhullar, who have given enough proof of their talent at the highest level.
Certainly one of the more interesting storylines to follow this week will be 27-year-old Shubhankar Sharma, who has some impressive pedigree in the game, having notched two DP World (European) Tour victories and also having won the Order of Merit championship on the Asian Tour in 2018.
He was also the recipient of DP World Tour’s Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award in 2018. Sharma has appeared in six majors, his best finish a tied eighth finish at The Open last year, highest ever by an Indian golfer in the history of tournament.
“It is both a privilege and an honour to represent India at the Olympics,” said Sharma following the announcement. “It is a dream come true. I have been preparing for this day for a while now and am planning my schedule on the DP World Tour accordingly. We have a very good and experienced team in Gaganjeet, Aditi, Diksha, and myself. We have depth and people experience behind us as well. All of us are playing solid golf at the moment on our respective tours too and that is a good sign”.
Gaganjeet Bhullar, 36, has an equally glittering resume with 12 international titles, including one on the DP World Tour. Dominant on the Asian Tour, he has held the Indian record for 11 wins. Once as high as 85th in the world, Bhullar has paraded his talent representing India at the World Cup of Golf and winning a silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games.
Talking about his Olympic qualification, Bhullar stated, “I’m just honoured to have the chance to represent India at the Olympics. With a family full of sportspersons who have represented India in other sports and for whom the Olympics are considered the ultimate in any sport, this is really a special moment for me to have earned the right to be an Olympian.”
“I was really keen to make it this time, having missed the last two Olympics by just such a narrow margin, so I feel very happy about finally reaching this major milestone in my career,” he added.
A big factor is deemed to be Bhullar’s familiarity with the Olympic venue as he has played there three times. “I know Le Golf National, the Olympic venue, as I have played there thrice in the past. It’s a punishing track. I will leave for Paris next week and practice at the Olympic venue for a week to get used to the conditions as part of preparation,” said Bhullar.
The qualification system for the Paris 2024 Olympic Game started on June 13, 2022, and finished on June 17, 2024. Thereafter, up to a maximum of four players from any one country could qualify as part of the top 15 world-ranked players. The next places would be awarded based on world ranking, outside the top 15, again with a limit of a maximum of two players per nation.
As Sharma and Bhullar get ready for their Olympic journey, they would naturally carry the country’s hopes and the legacy of Indian golf in the big world platform. For them, competing would not simply be a personal milestone but also a shot at improving the profile of Indian golf in the international arena.
