Subhash Tamang receives his trophy from Gaurav Ghosh (Captain, RCGC)
21-year-old Subhash Tamang of Nepal scripted an unlikely success story as this youngster from a country with only a handful of competitive players, outclassed the depth of Indian men’s amateurs and becoming the first ever Nepali golfer to win the All India Amateur Championship.
Tamang in fact defeated one of India’s leading amateurs Rohit Narwal in a one sided final match that ended after 29 holes with the final score of 9 & 7.
Incidentally Tamang’s world amateur ranking is higher than any Indian male player and he is gearing up to participate in the 2024 PGTI Qualifying Tournament in January-February for which his win has already ensured him a direct exemption to the Final Stage.
The 122nd staging of the All India Amateur which has winners of the likes of Indian legends Billoo Sethi, Rajkumar Pitamber, Ashok Malik, Vikramjit Singh, Lakshman Singh and others featured players from countries like South Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, adding international flavour to the competition.
The All-India Amateur Championship is India’s oldest golf tournament having started in 1892.
Subhash Tamang’s Amazing story –
Tamang comes from a modest background in Nepal, where his parents earned a living by crafting mud bricks. Due to financial challenges, he had to discontinue his education after the 3rd standard. Instead, he joined his parents in brick-making to contribute to their monthly income and help sustain their family.
Later, Tamang connected with his cousin, a ball boy at the Royal Nepal Golf Club in Kathmandu, and fell in love with what he saw in the first instance and soon developed a passion for the sport. Unaware that he would eventually become a player, his initial goal was simply to secure his livelihood by working as a ball boy alongside his cousin at the golf course.
Tamang watched golfers hit balls for nearly one year. And every day, when the range would close, he would be given one club, mostly a worn-out wedge, to use in collecting the balls. That was how he started to swing the golf club.
Tashi Ghale, a businessman in Kathmandu and President of the Nepal Golf Association, saw Tamang shadow-swinging one day and the rest is history. Ghale with Deepak Acharya, the Director of Operations and a teaching professional at Gokarna Golf Club helped Tamang extensively.
Connection with India –
Watching Tamang’s progress, Ghale and Acharya had plans to help him. Last year, realising that he needed more exposure, better facilities and all-round coaching, they approached Tarun Sardesai, a coach in Bengaluru, India, who operates TSG, a residential golf academy.
Sardesai was so impressed with Tamang’s swing and attitude towards golf and immediately offered him a 100% scholarship and since then it has been an upward trend for the Nepali boy who added wings to his dreams.
Sardesai was later also appointed as the Nepal National coach for the Asian Games in Hangzhou in China and has been associated with the team for close to a year now. All his hard work and determination have scripted an amazing success story for Tamang – who at 21 years is only just getting started !
Photo – IGU