KATHMANDU, JUNE 23

A six-member golf team is on Saturday leaving for India for threemonth training for the 19th Asian Games at the Tarun Sardesai Golf Academy in Bangalore.

Nepal No 1 pro Sukra Bahadur Rai and amateurs Subash Tamang, Sadbhav Acharya and Yubraj Bhujel along with women's team of Kashmira Shah and Susma Sigdel will attend training at the Academy. Five golfers will fly to India on Saturday, while pro Rai is currently undergoing training in Germany and he will join the team next month, informed NGA Member and Youth Development Director Deepak Acharya.

National Sports Council Member Secretary Tanka Lal Ghising bade farewell to the team on Friday. The Nepal Golf Association decided to send the team to Bangalore after taking approval from the NSC. The golfers will remain at the Academy till September 20 and they will participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games slated for September 23 to October 8.

The golfers train under the Director of Instruction at the Academy and former Indian professional golfer Tarun Sardesai. The golfers will also take part in tournaments every Wednesday at the Academy to assess their progress.

Top two amateur golfers Tamang and Acharya will take a break from the training to participate in the Singapore Amateur Open to be held at Orchid Country Club from July 15-19.

NSC Member Secretary Ghising said golf was always in priority for the Asian Games. "NGA has been actively working towards the development of the sport and I want every national association to follow its programmes," said Ghising. "We will manage everything for the team including airfare and training cost, and in return we want results from the players," he added. "We want to see you standing on the podium with medals around your neck," said Ghising.

NGA President Tashi Ghale thanked the NSC for arranging the closed-camp in Bangalore. "We cannot do training here due to monsoon and lack of equipment. We had a two-week training before the South Asian Games and that was fruitful," he said. "The players need to undergo hard training like armymen for the next three months to get the medal in the Asian Games."

A version of this article appears in the print on June 24, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.