SSP Chawrasia with the Indian Open trophy on Sunday (image courtesy: PGTI)
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The monkey is finally off SSP Chawrasia’s back! After four runner-up finishes, the 37-year-old Kolkata pro golfer is finally fifth time lucky as he clinched the title at the $1, 660, 000 Hero Indian Open 2016 at the Delhi Golf Club on Sunday. He held his nerves in the final round to come up with a one-under 71 that saw him edge out the defending champion and the India No. 1 Anirban Lahiri (69) and Korea’s Jeunghun Wang (68).
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Last year, Chawrasia had squandered a seven-shot lead to eventually lose to Lahiri in a play-off. There was to be no such repeat this year as he kept his compatriot at an arm’s length with a comfortable two-stroke cushion, despite a determined start from the World No. 52 in the final round.
“I saved a lot of tough shots and it was now. Actually I have been four-time runners-up and I have been thinking I have to win this and it has always been a dream. So I am happy to achieve it,” said the elated champion after his win.
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This is Chawrasia’s third win on the European Tour after previously having triumphed at the Emaar-MGF Indian Masters in 2008 and the Avantha Masters in 2011. Overall, this is his 14th win of his professional career.
The long-coveted victory also helped him win back his playing rights on the European Tour after narrowly losing it last year.
“This is very important as I don’t have a full card. Hopefully I am playing Olympics and World Cup and so it is important. I am happy. I was nervous a bit but I focussed and breathed in and out and controlled my nerves,” explained Chawrasia.
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About the author
Sudeshna Banerjee
Sudeshna is a veteran Indian Sports and International Tennis journalist as well as editor at Sportskeeda. She has an overall experience of over 10 years with top publications like The Bridge, Fox Sports Asia, and gained a keen interest in Indian sports since the 2002 Commonwealth and Asian Games when she was in school.
Sudeshna holds a Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She attends tournaments regularly and being a highly experienced journalist, she ensures she only contacts the correct people from her network for the most authentic information to be put in her articles.
Sudeshna’s favorite Indian athlete is PV Sindhu owing to her big-tournament performances. She also admires Tennis legend Rafael Nadal for his resilience and has witnessed the Spaniard in action at the French Open, due to which, Roland Garros is her all-time favorite Grand Slam tournament.
Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics made a lasting impact on Sudeshna. She has also interviewed him along with Badminton star Chirag Shetty and several other sports personalities. She has done on-ground reporting on multiple ITF tournaments along with the Premier Badminton League, Asian Boxing Championships and the Davis Cup.
When not using her skills and years of experience in crafting compelling content, Sudeshna likes to read, watch movies and travel.