The 3 rounds, 1st Lahore-Delhi Golf Contest,between a fourteen member Delhi Golf Club team and a fourteen member ‘Together We Golf Team’ of Lahore, concluded yesterday at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course with the ultimate result of the competition totally in favour of the host team who used their knowledge of the home course to good advantage.
Indian Golfers did try to make a decent match of it and noticeable was the effort of golfers like,Man Mohan Singh,Vijay Dhawan,Maj Gen(r)KNS Shergill,Ashok Singh Malik,Ashwani Luthra and the only lady Bubbles Suneja, who showed considerable spark and excellence in patches,but somehow could not dent the consistency of the host team,that comprised of Shoaib Bokhari,Asad I.A.Khan,Moeen Salahuddin,Mian Asad Hameed,Max Babri,Lt.Gen(r)Sabahat Husain,Imran Miraj,Amir Mehmood,Raja Asif Mehdi,M.Ramzan Sheikh,Sardar Murad Khan,Asad Amin Sheikh,Asad Alam and Sameea Javid Ali.
This golf competition was fought out over three days,with the hosts winning three matches on the first day,seven on the second and five on the final day and as a result accumulating 15 points as against Delhi team’s 6.All through the three days of golfing,one day at the Royal Palm Golf course and two days at Gymkhana,what stood out was the fact that these friends from across the border were totally awed by the aura of Lahore,the hospitality of the Lahorites and they did not for a moment stifle their emotions and expressed their love and gratitude in the most expressive way and requested
The host team to prepare for a visit to Delhi in March 2013.The leader of the Delhi team,Manmohan Singh,has a special love for Lahore as his father was associated with Government College,and he still recalls the stories his father shared with him about this great institution.Another one whose father studied in Government College is Ashwani Luthra besides the fact that his father was born in Sargodah and mother in Gujranwala.
Another senior member of the Indian team,Vijay Dhawan is Lahore born whereas R.S.Bedi has his roots in Chak Bedi,MontgomeryFor all of the them,this Lahore visit was like a dream come true and in their speeches at the prize distribution ceremony,at Lahore Gymkhana they vowed to apply themselves wholeheartedly for improvement of relations and ensuring a lot of support in easing visa restrictions and expand this activity to a much wider level and involve all leading golf clubs on both sides.
To conclude the event a grand prize distribution was held in the evening and also a signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Lahore Gymkhana and Delhi Golf Club with Maj(r) Javaid Nasrullah signing on behalf of Gymkhana and Vijay Dhawan on behalf of Delhi Golf Club.The prize distribution was a grand affair and attended by Shahid Malik,Former Pakistani High Commisioner to India,Sharat Shabarwal,High Commisioner of India in Pakistan,Lt.Gen(r)Khalid Maqbool,former Governor Punjab,M.Ramzan Sheikh,Abbas Masood,Head of UBL International Banking Division,Zia ur Rehman,Chairman,Lahore Gymkhana,the two competing teams and a large number of golfers.
