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    Poona Club Golf Course members Anirban Lahiri , Udayan Mane qualify for Tokyo Olympics

    Punekar NewsHOMEPUNEPOONA CLUB GOLF COURSE MEMBERS ANIRBAN LAHIRI , UDAYAN MANE QUALIFY FOR TOKYO OLYMPICSPunePoona Club Golf Course members Anirban Lahiri , Udayan Mane qualify for Tokyo OlympicsShare this News:FacebookTwitterWhatsAppLinkedInTelegramSMSPune, July 14, 2021: Leading Indian professional golfers Anirban Lahiri and Udayan Mane both playing members of the city based Poona Club Golf Course will represent India in the men’s golf event at Tokyo Olympic 2020.

    The 30-year-old Mane and leading Indian Golfer Anirban Lahiri will represent India in the 60-player field. Mane was felicitated at the Poona Club Golf Course today at the hands of Poona Club President Nitin Desai, Captain of the Poona Club Golf Course Lalit Chinchankar, Lady Captain Mrs. Padmaja Shirke, Vice President of Poona Club Sunil Handa, Golf Committee member Ikram Khan, Golf Co-ordinator Gaurav Gadhoke other committee members and distinguished sportspersons were also present on the occasion.

    The big-built Udayan, currently the second-highest ranked Indian in the world at 356, made the cut for his maiden Olympics The official announcement of Udayan’s qualification for the Olympics was made on the International Golf Federation’s (IGF) website with Mane being placed No. 60 on the Olympic Golf Rankings list (Anirban Lahiri moved up to No. 59).

    Mr.Nitin D.Desai, President of Poona Club said that Obviously all of us were frenzied when we realized that first time Poona Club members have made it to Olympics in the individual event. Pune has mapped Olympics in the individual events It stands as a testament to PCL’s commitment to sports and growing rich crops therein encompassing diverse games. It makes PCL, Pune, and the state proud.

    On behalf of Poona Club and its members I would like to wish both our golfers and the entire Indian Olympic contingent best wishes and hope they come back with success and make us proud, Mr. Chinchankar added.

    The Chennai-born Mane who grew up in Bengaluru and now resides in Pune has been one of the most successful golfers on the PGTI since he turned professional in 2015. The six feet four inches tall Udayan is an 11-time winner on the PGTI and is one of only two players (along with Ashok Kumar) to have won three consecutive events on the tour.

    He achieved the feat between December 2019 and February 2020 when he won the TATA Steel Tour Championship 2019, Vooty & Haldi Presents Golconda Masters 2020 Powered by Telangana Tourism, and TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship 2020 Presented by Eagleton – The Golf Resort. Mane won PGTI’s last event Prometheus School Presents Delhi-NCR Open in March 2021.

    The well-read and articulate Mane also holds the record for being the only rookie to have won two titles on the tour back in 2015. Udayan was the PGTI Emerging Player of the Year in 2015 having finished a creditable fifth on the PGTI Order of Merit in his debut season. His best finish on the PGTI Rankings has been second place in 2017.

    Udayan who has had an impressive amateur career prior to turning professional, was India’s No. 1 amateur in 2014. In 2014, Mane went on to represent the country at the Incheon Asian Games and the Eisenhower Trophy.

    Udayan Mane said, “I’m really excited about getting the opportunity to represent India at the Olympics. In fact, I’m still pinching myself as it hasn’t yet sunk in fully. With a great 2020-21 season on the PGTI, I felt that I had almost sealed my qualification for the Olympics but the lockdown in India this year put some doubts in my mind whether I could actually make the cut for Tokyo. The only tours which have recently been operational are the PGA Tour and European Tour and I thought the players from those tours had a real chance of pushing through and qualifying for the Olympics.” Said Mane

    He further added. “I’m looking forward to joining Anirban in the Indian team at Tokyo. He’s not only a good friend but also a great golfer and a role-model and more than that he’s an amazing human being. He teaches us on the golf course and off the golf course. He’s the best person to emulate. We’ve been in contact with each other now over the phone more often because ever since he found out about my qualification he’s also been quite excited.” Lahiri is currently in the US and will be appearing at his second consecutive Olympic Games as he had also represented India at the Rio 2016 Olympics along with SSP Chawrasia.” I am incredibly fortunate to be able to practice at Poona Club Golf Course. The committee and members have been very accommodating and encouraging in my pursuit to better my golf game, swing and fitness. The facilities here allow me to better myself every day “, said Mane

    Mane while thanking the members of the Poona Club Golf Course said ” The entire atmosphere around Poona club is one of growth, strength and development. I think the committee and (members too) have worked very hard to achieve this kind of view towards budding golfers and serious golfers. The committee has asked me for advice about various things and have taken my word seriously and that means a lot. They care about the golf course and its golfers.Mane also thanked his first coach Vijay Divecha and current coach Laurence Brotheridge and said both have played a major part in his career . I have been a professional golfer for 6 years now and won 11 times so far. As an amateur, I have won 6 events out of which two of them were at the Poona Club Golf Course, he added. The Professional Golf Tour of India is my home tour as of now. They offer world ranking points for a 5th place finish and better. These OWGR points were up for grabs from the beginning of 2019. After winning 3 tournaments in a row and losing the 4th tournament in a play off, my world ranking was the highest in India and the highest ranked Indian in the world. That’s how I qualified for Olympics said Mane while explaining the qualification process.Mane added “The experience of already having competed at a multi-sport mega-event such as the 2014 Asian Games will in some way help me in adapting to the atmosphere of the Olympics. However, I’m sure the Olympics are unique in their own way. So it’ll be something for me to experience first-hand and something that is well beyond my imagination.The men’s golf event in Tokyo will feature 60 players and will be played at the Kasumigaseki Country Club from July 29 – August 1.

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