Shubhankar Sharma during Round 2 of The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Hoylake
For someone who has spent all his life living through the ecstasy that sport has provided, it is hard for me to contain my excitement today. Other than the charm and mystique of Bollywood film & music – which has always floated my boat, the thrill of watching a truly skilled sportsman at the top of his game, has to rank as life’s greatest vicarious pleasure.
Two exceptional people rank up there for me. Other than both of them being top order batsmen for India, they shared another thing in common.
Both their names ended with the three letters – “Kar”. Rather poetically, this in itself is a complete word in Hindi, which translates to a powerful two alphabet word in English called “Do”.
Oh man, did these two guys Do or what !
Doesn’t take much to guess who I am talking about here.
Gavaskar and Tendulkar.
Whenever I watched these two bat, it was as if my breath depended upon their holding onto their wicket. The heart often skipped a beat when you saw Gavaskar go on his knees and despatch one through Covers or when Tendulkar stood on his toes and punched one off the back-foot through Point.
Many of my generation will be hard pressed to disagree. Such was the charismatic influence of these two over multiple generations of Indians.
Yesterday, I got the same feeling watching another Indian at the top of his sport. The goose bumpy, child-like, free spirited and connected feeling.
As I thought about it all day today, it suddenly dawned on me. This guy has the same three alphabets at the end of his name as my other two immortals – “Kar”.
Shubhankar … is his name.
As I walked the treacherous terrain of Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Sunday, in persistent rain with high winds, watching every strike of his … I felt that tingle that I had forgotten about.
Yes, the sport was different, but the sensation was just the same. The willow was now a golf club.
Shubhankar was already some sort of a prodigy before I met him four years ago. Then as I got more vested in his game and career, I started to spot that X-factor – both on and off the course, that separates the journeyman Professional from the Superstar.
A couple of years ago, I saw it in action at the BMW PGA at Wentworth – where I witnessed the steely display on the course from a mild mannered & humble person off it. Being an avid golfer myself, I could appreciate how he was making his clubs swing to a perfect symphony.
You see … the sound of the strike was different. Hard to find a better word to describe it. It was just different. I was enamoured by it. That sound gave me the precise same thrill as I used to get from Gavaskar’s and Tendulkar’s willow.
Nothing before or after had come to take the next spot. Until I saw Shubhankar in action for the first time in a high intensity, gun tournament in 2021.
But sport, just like life, can be cruel at times. Great promise, exceptional talent & inordinate amounts of hard work cannot bring forward an event who’s time hasn’t been ordained to come yet.
Two barren years went by.
The only thing that changed over these two years of famine was that Shubhankar’s tenacity and self-belief never stopped growing. Each time he’d miss a cut, I’d speak to him over the phone and not for once did he ever say to me anything other than this :
His voice was always real. Never contrived. It exuded self-belief despite the factual shortcomings in his results. I sensed that … every single time. All I remember thinking in every instance through those conversations is that this guy is exactly half my age and he has the self-belief of an Army.
It’s the ultimate lesson I have learnt from this superstar. There is no force on earth that’s more powerful than self-belief.
Shubhankar’s self-belief is unreal. Trust me when I say this. I’ve rarely seen anything like it all my life.
And on Sunday … it all came together, like a masterpiece work of Art.
He did not drop a shot all day. A bogey free round in howling conditions on the final day of the greatest Golf Major – The Open Championship, in a field packed with exceptional ball strikers who were dropping shots all over the place.
Picture this (and golfers amongst you will know exactly what I am saying). You hit a drive 285 yards off the tee into a headwind and you’re still staring at a 230 yard approach shot ! Literally on every hole. You have no choice but to hit a 2 iron or if you’re lucky a 4 iron to that yardage and with control through the prevailing winds.
It’s not just hard. It’s very hard.
He hit every single approach shot to perfection.
A bunch of us from India were walking with him as his support and two wonderful young boys were exhibiting to me what I used to feel at their age in the teens. Their eyes lit up when he hit it close and their hearts beat more rapidly as he stood over a birdie putt. Their eyes had the glint which told me that Shubhankar had just created two new fans for the rest of his life.
The whole country is next. It’s about time that his fan base grew exponentially from here.
It made my heart fill with pride when I saw the Indian flag besides the first tee box and the rousing reception Shubhankar got as he walked up the 18th. English golf fans were drawn to him as one of their own – or so it certainly seemed.
It did cross my mind at this point how poignant this scene was. Would Shubhankar ever get such a reception back home ? Other than hardcore golf fans, who else really knows him in the country ? Wasn’t it time that all of this begins to change ?
I think in the fullness of time, the answer to all of the above questions is a resounding Yes. India is today a $3.5 trillion economy. This is about the time when the GDP growth rates and the game of Golf begin to have a positive correlation and causation.
If Shubhankar were a listed stock, I’d be filling my boots in my portfolio. Yesterday’s top 10 finish by an Indian at The Open should herald a new era for Golf in the country. It’s a precursor to a big win that is round the corner for him.
If it was even possible for his own self-belief to grow any more, it just did. And as his biggest fan, mine went up a few notches too.
Thank you for that masterclass Shubhankar. I will never forget this round for the rest of my life.
India’s best days lie ahead.
Indian Golf’s best days lie ahead. And now we have a superstar to burn that flame brighter and stronger.
Shubhankar will carry that torch with aplomb. Let’s get behind him as a nation.
Feel free to contact Ashwani Mathur, the author, via email at ashmathur70@gmail.com.
Credits:-
Photo – Asian Tour