How often do you see the grandson of a pan seller from Benaras grow up to be a prize golfer? The answer is exactly one time and that one time goes by the name of SSP Chawrasia. One of the best golfers to have ever graced the sport in India, it seems that Chawrasia’s entire career has slowly but steadily built up towards this moment – him taking part in the Rio Olympics 2016.
SSP has been in possible ways to define the word, a trendsetter. His is truly a rags to riches story. From the humblest of beginnings, Chawrasia started life at the servant’s quarters at The Royal Calcutta Golf Club and caddied after school as a source of income; his two pennies towards supporting the family, to now owning two flats in the bubbling metropolis that is present day Calcutta and representing India at the Olympic games.
This is a man who can safely stand tall and proclaim with utter pompousness that he played life and didn’t let life play him! As far as plaudits go for Golf’s gradual transformation in India – from a profligate pastime for the privileged to a mainstream sport played and enjoyed by upper and middle-class sections of society alike, Chawrasia’s name ranks right up there.
Nicknamed “Chipputtsia” for his incredibly strong short game, SSP has won 14 titles so far since turning pro back in ’97. His triumphs include three wins on the European tour and 4 on the Asian tour with the latest title coming in the 2016 Hero Indian Open in March. His form since that victory though has been erratic and one would be hoping that the law of averages comes into play when he takes the field this Thursday at Rio – not that he will be looking to bring anything other than his ‘A’ game when the golfers finally tee off.
Golf’s much-romanticised return to the Olympics after a gap of 112 years, has been somewhat marred by the mass pull out of elite golfers; Rio will not witness the likes of Irishman Rory McIlroy or Australian Jason Day or even Fiji’s Vijay Singh. Fiji should have forcefully put Singh on a flight to Rio as it would have drastically increased the country’s medal chances at the games but that’s a story for another time.
Although the absence of the big names somewhat takes off the sheen from the event, it opens up the possibility for someone else to have their moment of glory; the likes of Chawrasia and compatriot Anirban Lahiri can now be really excited about sneaking home a medal following the age old principle, “the shinier the better!”
Like his life, SSP’s road to Rio hasn’t exactly been a bed of roses. Even after qualifying automatically by virtue of his 44th rank on the International Golf Federation’s Olympic qualifying ranking list – the cut off for Rio was 60 – his claim of some 25 lakhs of rupees to fund his participation for Rio submitted through the Indian Golf Union found no takers in India. Left with no other choice, he had to sponsor himself in order to fly the tricolour in Brazil!
Every sport apart from Cricket encounters snags when India is concerned, so why shouldn’t golf; so what if it’s looked at as being elitist and cash rich! Realistically speaking, SSP is obviously not the best bet for a medal at the golf event, he’s not even India’s top-ranked golfer currently but it’s always special seeing an underdog perform well. Everybody likes a good underdog story and the way sporting events in 2016 have been shaping up, you never know!
For this son of a former greenskeeper at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, this is easily the biggest event of his sporting career while in the greater scheme of things, it is much more! Golf in India is still pretty much an explosion waiting to happen and a medal for Chawrasia at the Games can act as the perfect catalyst. SSP and compatriots Anirban Lahiri and Aditi Ashok stand to play a role similar to those played by some of India’s most decorated Olympians, Vijender Singh, Sushil Kumar and Abhinav Bindra.
The effect that these athletes’ medal winning campaigns had on the state of their respective sports in India is there for everybody to see, and Chawrasia and co. will be hoping to accomplish something similar with their exploits on the golf course.
With Olympic frenzy now having completely engulfed the sport lovers of the nation, whether the average Indian follows golf or not, they are sure to sit up and take notice when Chawrasia tees off and mounts his medal challenge this coming Thursday. So as Indians, let us all as one, hope for a miracle on the green. Or maybe this astute student of the game will surprise us all and be downright brilliant! Only time will tell.
