Avani Prashanth receiving her winning trophy from Anirban Lahiri
The Bangalore duo of Avani Prashanth and Shaurya B Bharathan dominated the competition to claim the All India Junior Girls and Boys titles respectively at Kalhaar Blues & Greens in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The 15-year-old Prashanth, who is already a two-time winner on the Hero WPGT Tour, won the title by six strokes over Chandigarh’s Puneet Kaur Bajwa and defending champion Sneha Singh. She shot 75-73-74 for a total of 6-over 222. The highlight of her final round was an eagle on the par-4 13th, when she holed her second shot with a gap wedge from 120 yards.
Prashanth’s victory gives her the rare All India-double in both senior and junior categories. She had already won the All India Ladies Amateur title earlier this year. Prior to this year, Singh did the double in 2019 and Olympian Aditi Ashok had accomplished it in 2014.
From L-R – Anirban Lahiri, Shaurya B Bharathan (Centre) receiving his winning trophy from Devang Shah (MD, Navratna Group)
On the Boys side, Shaurya B Bharathan, another prodigy from the Tarun Sardesai Golf Academy in Bangalore, won by seven shots over Krishnav Nikhil Chopra in Category ‘A’ and the overall category. Bharathan shot 73-71-74-71 for a one-over total of 289 while Krishnav shot 78-78-68-72 to finish at 8-over 296.
This is Bharathan’s first Category A IGU title. His previous best finish was a tie for ninth at the All India Junior Championship in 2018. Bharathan has previously won the prestigious 91st Albatross Junior Championship and was the top qualifier for the Asia Pacific Junior Thailand Masters in 2018.
Results –
Cat A Girls –
Winner – Avani Prashanth – 75-73-74 (6-over 222)
2nd – Puneet Kumar Bajwa – 77-76-75 (12-over 228)
2nd – Sneha Singh – 74-77-77 (12-over 228)
Cat B Girls –
Winner – Ananya Garg – 80-74-80 (24-over 234)
2nd – Janneya A Dasanniee – 78-79-78 (25-over 235)
2nd – Mannat Brar – 77-77-81 (25-over 235)
Cat C Girls –
Winner – Anuradha Chaudhari – 84-80-82 (36-over 246)
2nd – Riya Jadon – 83-82-83 (38-over 248)
Cat A&B Combined –
Winner – Avani Prashanth – 75-73-74 (6-over 222)
2nd – Puneet Kumar Bajwa – 77-76-75 (12-over 228)
2nd – Sneha Singh – 74-77-77 (12-over 228)
Cat A Boys –
Winner – Shaurya Bharathan – 73-71-74-71 (1-over 289)
2nd – Krishnav Chopra – 78-78-68-72 (8-over 296)
Cat B Boys –
Winner – Aarav D Shah – 76-76-69-77 (10-over 298)
2nd – Gurnavjeet S Bhatia – 81-79-79-78 (19-over 317)
Cat C Boys –
Kanav Chouhan – 76-71-70 (7-over 217)
2nd – Kartik Singh – 73-75-72 (10-over 220)
Cat A&B Boys Combined –
Winner – Shaurya Binu – 73-71-74-71 (1-over 289)
2nd – Krishnav Chopra – 78-78-68-72 (8-over 296)
3rd – Aarav D Shah – 76-76-69-77 (10-over 298)