Swinging away to glory

HYDERABAD: Golf is fast catching up among sport personalities in India, particularly among cricketers.Among them is former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev, who is glued to the game in Delhi.In city, former Test leftarm spin- ner SL Venkatapathy Raju along with Vivek Jaisimha and Gajanan Reddy are regular at golf course.Even present day cricketers like Hyderabad Ranji skipper DB Ravi Teja, Akshath Reddy and Ashish Reddy spend time at the course.The city has after all produced one of the best golfers in Anirbhan Lahiri, who made history by qualifying for the British Open, oldest and prestigious of the four major championships in professional golf, this year.“It has become an addiction. It is easy for cricketers, as it is a side-on game. But it is a frustrating game when the going is tough. There are no rivals but it is an individual against an individual as you have to challenge the course,” said Jaisimha, whose father, late ML Jaisimha, was a gifted golfer. There are also a few like Ajay Bharati, who after a fairly successful career in hockey, turned his second innings in sports as an active golfer. In six years’ time, he stands at number two in the State.Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, the former centre-half was once in the Indian camp.He played for UP from 1988 to 93 before moving to the city after he was recruited in South Central Railway.He played with distinction for SCR and the State. He hung up his boots in 2006.“I think my career in hockey helped me to become a good golf player,’’ said Bharati, who is married to Athens Olympian athlete JJ Shobha.It was in the fag end of his hockey career when Bharati got closer to golf.“The SCR had a course in Secunderabad and our general manager persuaded all the players to play golf.I was new to the game but my first swings impressed the local players, who said I can become a good player if I take the game seriously,” added Bharati.Soon from an occasional player, Bharati became a regular at golf course and even began to win tournaments.“Golf needs a lot of patience, concentration and stamina. It also requires a lot of hard work. My stint with hockey helped me to swing the club perfectly. I got results too and even won the all Inter-Railway championship,” said Bharati, who recently came second to Abdul Pasha in the State championship at Bolarum Golf course.He finished with a score of 74 against 73 by Pasha in the 18-hole course.Seeing her husband’s passion to golf, Shobha, who won the hearts at Athens in the 2004 Olympics when she completed sevendiscipline heptathlon event despite ligament injury, is planning to follow in her husband’s footsteps.“You will soon find her swinging the club along with me at the course,” smiled Bharati