With July 11, 2016, being the cut-off date for Olympic
qualification, Lahiri and Chawrasia have made the grade for Rio as per the
International Golf Federation’s rankings (based on the world rankings) for the
Olympic men’s competition.
Reigning Asia No. 1 Anirban Lahiri (world rank 62) and
reigning Indian Open champion SSP Chawrasia (world rank 207) were placed 20th and
45th respectively in the International Golf Federation’s (IGF) ranking
list which was updated at around 2100 hrs Indian Standard Time on July 11,
2016. The two Indians have now officially sealed their places in the elite
field of 60 players.
Md Siddikur Rahman (world rank 308), a two-time Asian Tour
winner, was placed 56th in the qualification list and will therefore represent
Bangladesh
at the Rio Olympics. He will be the third PGTI member, after Lahiri and
Chawrasia, to earn a ticket to Rio .
Anirban Lahiri, a winner of seven international titles, will
be spearheading India ’s
campaign at Rio . Anirban, who has been plying
his trade on the PGA Tour this season, had enjoyed an exceptional season in
2015 with two wins on the European Tour and a phenomenal tied fifth finish at
the PGA Championship, the best result for an Indian at a Major till date.
Last year, Lahiri also created history by becoming the first
Indian to be a part of the International Team at the Presidents Cup. He has had
a long spell in the world’s top-50 in 2016 and had all but sealed his Olympic
berth at the start of the year. Anirban will be playing his ninth successive
Major when he tees it up at the British Open at Royal Troon in Scotland this
week.
Interestingly, the Rio Olympics will be Lahiri’s second
outing at a quadrennial multi-sporting event. He had earlier participated at
the 2006 Doha Asian Games where he was part of the Indian team that won the
silver medal.
While speaking to PGTI on Monday, after confirmation of
his qualification for the Olympics, a confident Anirban said, “Olympian Anirban
Lahiri sounds good, but Olympic medalist Anirban Lahiri would sound way
better.”
This is what Lahiri posted on his twitter handle on
Monday: Shots fired!!! @OlympicGolf here I come.
SSP Chawrasia, a winner of four international titles,
including three on the European Tour, notched up a long-awaited victory at the
Indian Open earlier this year that propelled him into contention for the
Olympics. Chawrasia will make a formidable pairing with Lahiri as both the
golfers have been at the top of their game in the recent past.
On his Olympic qualification, Chawrasia said, “I’m extremely
excited about having the honour to represent my country at the Olympics. It’s a
major career milestone for me. I’m looking forward to teaming up with my good
friend Anirban in Rio . My total focus for the
next three weeks is to practice and prepare for the Olympics as I want to give
it my best shot.”
As per the current IGF ranking list for the Olympic men’s competition,
India
will be one of 24 nations to have more than one player in the field. There are
a total of 17 participants from Asia who will
be representing nine different countries. Both Anirban and SSP will be playing
their first ever event in the continent of South America when they appear for India at Rio .
Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, Director, PGTI, said, “We’re excited
about the prospect of seeing two of India’s top professionals Anirban Lahiri
and SSP Chawrasia competing at the world’s biggest sporting event. Anirban and
SSP have both been great ambassadors for Indian golf over the years, both on
and off the course. We’re confident that Anirban and SSP will once again make India proud
with their performance at the Olympics. We’re also proud of the fact that PGTI
member Md Siddikur Rahman will be representing Bangladesh in the elite field. We
wish Anirban, SSP and Siddikur all the best for the Rio Olympics.”
Lahiri and Chawrasia will be part of India ’s largest
ever contingent at the Olympics which consists of a total of 120 athletes.
While the Olympics will be held from August 5 – 21, 2016,
the men’s golf competition will be staged at the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro from
August 11 – 14.
Press release
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