Hands over Rs 850,000 to support him in taking part in the Professional Golf Tour of India
KATHMANDU, JULY 18
The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Nepal today provided top pro Sukra Bahadur Rai with financial assistance to help him take part in remaining events of the Indian Tour.
PGA Nepal raised a total of Rs 850,000 to support Rai, who earned full cards of Professional Golf Tour of India in February and played six tournaments before the Indian Tour went into break in May.
PGA Nepal President Rabindra Man Shrestha, General Secretary Deepak Acharya and Nepal Golf Association President Tashi Ghale handed over the cheque to Rai amidst a programme. They also presented memento to all the contributors.
According to PGA Nepal, Raviner Saini of Pernod Ricard is the biggest contributor with Rs 200,000, while British Gorkha Community donated Rs 100,000. Ten individuals from golfing fraternity and corporate sector - Suhrid Ghimire, Chandra Tandan, RR Pandey, Tashi Ghale, Rabindra Man Shrestha, Prabesh Phuyal, TG Shrestha, Kishan Agrawal, Tendi Sherpa and Norbu Tshiring Sherpa - contributed Rs 50,000 each. Likewise, Deepak Acharya and Sanjay Lama donated Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively.
Rai, who has also been selected as a national team member for the upcoming Asian Games, is scheduled to leave for India to undergo one month training at the Tarun Sardesai Golf Academy from July 20 before taking part in the PGTI events. He will join top amateur golfers, Subash Tamang and Sadbhav Acharya at the Academy.
"We are grateful to all the contributors who came forward to support our top professional golfer," said PGA Nepal General Secretary Acharya, who led the donation drive after a number of corporate institutions turned down the proposal to sponsor the golfer."
We want Rai to excel in Indian Tour and beyond, and we hope this support will be helpful for him to perform without pressure in upcoming events," added Acharya.
PGA Nepal President Shrestha lauded Acharya's efforts in collecting financial support for Rai. "Rai is our top golfer and he has been doing fairly well in Indian Tour. But he has not been able to concentrate on his game, especially in the last two rounds," said Shrestha.
"Financial pressure might be a key reason behind his below-par performance. We are thankful to you all for your generous support, which will definitely help Rai in doing well in the remaining events."
NGA President Ghale said Rai was a dedicated and well-disciplined golfer. "I have not seen a player like Sukra [Rai] in terms of dedication towards the sport and discipline," said Ghale.
"The support extended to him will not only help in doing well in the PGTI events but also in the Asian Games. He will join amateur golfers Subash Tamang and Sadbhav Acharya at the Tarun Sardesai Golf Academy and together they will shine in the Asiad," he added.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 19, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
