Indian govt does not understand golf’s potential, says ex-India golfer Amandeep Singh Johl

New Delhi, Oct10
In a country like India where sports like golf don't get much recognition, former India golfer Amandeep Singh Johl has called out for the government to put more focus on the sport, claiming that they have not yet realised its potential.

“India has a long way to go in golf. We as a country are not able to understand the potential of the game. When I went to China in 1990 for the Asian Games, there were 5-10 courses. When I went back five years later, it had 463.

"Our government, our politicians are unable to understand the potential of the game. Now that Golf is an Olympic sport, we have Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar in the Olympics. The Government should build more golf courses and India can go really, really far,” Amandeep told IANS on Wednesday.

The 4th Edition of the Delhi Golf Club League teed off at the historic Delhi Golf Club on October 3 with the addition of two new teams, Sudhir Power and Victorious Choice. This takes the total count of teams to a maximum limit of 24 in India’s most prestigious Golf League, the inaugural season of which, in 2021, witnessed 18 teams compete while 20 teams competed in the 2022 edition and 22 teams played in 2023.

Amandeep sits on the tournament committee of the Delhi Golf Club, which is conducting the fourth edition of the DGC League. The former player-turned-coach went on to elaborate on the importance of such tournaments.

“The whole league is about friendship, camaraderie, communication amongst people which is one of the important parts of the game. Golf is such a fantastic game, that it helps in increasing the communication skills which are missing in this day and age. If you look at today’s generation, everyone is always on their phones. The beautiful thing about the sport is you are out on the course for four hours. Events like the DGCL is a fantastic thing.

“We’ve got players that are 15 years old to players who are 90. Can you imagine that we have senior citizens, ladies, juniors and regular members from all walks of life? They are all interacting with each other and competing which is equally important. It is a fantastic package,” he added.