New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) There were pangs of loneliness and bouts of self doubt but a determined Indian golfer Manu Gandas learnt to embrace it all as he navigated through his maiden season on the DP World Tour.
The cold and wet conditions in Europe mounted a challenge as he battled through nagging stress injuries to his ankle and wrist while trying to find his mark.
“It is much colder and windier and a lot of rain in Europe, something which we don’t get in Asia, so you need to get used to it,” Manu, who won the PGTI Players Championship last month, told PTI during the launch of the Hero Indian Open here.
“I am someone who likes to be alone but it can get a bit lonely at times. Every couple of weeks I would come to India, you get home sick and you want home food.” Being a vegetarian, Manu also had to adapt a bit more as he longed for home food, sometimes depending on diary products or ready-to-cook options which he always carried to help out in emergency.
One person who has always been there for him like a rock is long-time coach Anitya Chand.
“My coach was always there for me through ups and downs. There are moments when you feel down and you can’t think through. A lot of weeks I was low as I wasn’t up there where I wanted myself to be.
“Self doubt also creeps in but you need to keep reminding yourself that you need to be patient and you can get back up there.” Manu played over 20 events on the DP World Tour, managing just two top-30 finishes — Tied 20th at Handa World Invitational in August and T28 at the Thailand Classic in February. He made the cut in eight events.
“The class of field there is top of the world. It is a different level and it gave me a close-level look, I mean, at what level I have to compete. Now, the idea is to go back in the DP Tour and compete with the best,” he says.
The 27-year-old from Gurgaon said he has been bothered by stress injuries to his ankle and wrist and he had to constantly manage them as he played week after week in Europe.
“It was a learning experience, could have been better but given that physically I wasn’t in the best shape, I am happy,” said Manu, who had to make technical adjustments keeping in mind the European conditions.
“I had a couple of injuries which I have been facing for 2-3 years now as I didn’t get enough time to rest.
“These are repetitive stress injuries to the right wrist and left ankle, but that is the life of an athlete, you have to manage those. It has not aggravated which is good but it is still there. All I can do now is to maintain it.” Though he couldn’t keep his DP Tour card, Manu has made a good beginning at the PGTI tour as he is currently ranked second in the Order of Merit.
“One of the major goals will be to get physically stronger so that I can do what I want without any hesitation.
“The idea is to play all the events but if at any point I feel the injury is aggravating then I can step back at the right moment so that I can continue in the second half of the season,” he signed off.
IGU to appoint National Development Manager (NDM) and National High Performance manager (NHPM) =================== Indian Golf Union (IGU) President Brijinder Singh said they are in the process of hiring a National Development manager (NDM) and National High Performance manager (NHPM).
“We are trying to get paid employees whose job will be to do talent scouting and nurture them,” Singh said.
“We have already interviewed a few people for the two posts. For NDM, we have shortlisted a few. They are supposed to make a presentation about what would be their approach to grow golf. So, hopefully, we can get a NDM by the first week of April.
“NHPM has to be an established player, someone who is a good golfer and is committed. So it is a long process.” PTI ATK AM ATK AM AM
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