He could have, at best, been termed an average junior. At 15 he narrowly missed making it to the Indian junior team. Even with no solid financial support, at 17 he took the plunge and lived on bare minimum to realize his dream of maturing into a professional golfer. Today, he is one of the most promising players, ranked 4th on the Rolex Rankings and one of Coach Divecha’s favourite students. What helped Anirban Lahiri, shoot up to the top slot?

“He was not always talented but that worked to his advantage. His consistency and passion for the sport helped him improve his game. Some talented youngsters become overconfident and succumb to pressure at later stages. You float or drown based on your willingness to improve, face situations and be prepared to change your strategy for the better, even if it means that you might have to step down the position ladder for a while.”

Anirban Lahiri

A futuristic approach as against eyeing a small term goal sets Anirban apart from most of his contemporaries,” says Vijay.

His failure to make it to the junior team did not scorch Anirban’s hope. “It only strengthened my resolve to prove myself. At 17 years of age I traded a sheltered life in Hyderabad for a tougher one in Bangalore to train under Vijay sir. I rented a one room flat in a village called Biradi close to Eagleton, Golf Village where I started my first ever intensive training. At this point I would also like to make a mention of Mr. Chetan Meda, MD golf operations at Eagleton. He not only allowed us to play on the course at a nominal charge but a few years later he even offered Abhishek, Chikka and me an honorary membership of Eagleton.

A Touché sponsored champ today, Anirban did not have it easy always. With an undying fire in his belly he did not mind reaching deep into his pockets to live his passion. That was before Gati Cargo and Logistics MD, Mahindra Aggarwal, impressed with Anirban’s feat at a local tournament walked in to save the day. “They gave me a job and sponsored my amateur days. I am still working with them.”

“Not everyone is an exceptional golfer. Competition is fierce. Even the talented golfers need to practice and invest for hours to keep afloat. I am lucky that I found support early in life but it was only possible because I dedicated my life to golf. All I can say is that I can never be satisfied with anything but giving golf my best and yes, there is no alternative to hard work.”

Article from syndicated source