Malaysian Nur Damiyan outlasts Diksha to win USHA 100th All India Ladies Amateur Golf Championship




New Delhi: Local school girl Diksha Dagar gave it all but the rub of the green and an experienced opponent from Malaysia stopped her quest for the USHA 100th All India Ladies Amateur Golf Championship title one step short of the summit.

Runner up Diksha Dagar, Hon'ble Minister Vijay Goel, Champion Nur Durriah Damian and Saina Nehwal

Runner up Diksha Dagar, Hon’ble Minister Vijay Goel, Champion Nur Durriah Damian and Saina Nehwal

The scores at the end of the 36-hole final show that the 21-year-old Nur Durriah Damian of Malaysia beat Diksha 7&5 on the 31st hole, but in reality the match was far closer, at least in the morning session and then again, the Indian did put up a fight but no avail.

Also on Sunday, Ireland’s Maria Dunne beat Tsai Wei Chia of Chinese Taipei 3&2 in the clash for the third place.

The prizes were given away by Hon’ble Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Vijay Goel and Mr. Siddharth Shriram, President of Delhi Golf Club and Promoter, USHA International, in the presence of Indian sports icon Saina Nehwal.

Both the finalists, Nur and Diksha were visibly tired by the closing stages of the match that was spread over two sessions and 36 holes. But for at least the first 15 holes of the morning session, both displayed excellent golf.

Diksha, a student of Mount St.Mary’s School in New Delhi, has been in great form and in the initial stages of the match, she gave the more experienced and fancied Nur a run for her money. Diksha, who has a hearing impairment and has been using a hearing aid since the age of six, has won four of the eighth tournaments she has played in India this season and also played four other events outside India.

“Though I lost, it was a great experience. Today was not my day, many times things just did not go my way and I had a lot of lip outs. Also Nur played very well and came up with brilliant shots at crucial time,” said the gracious and very generous Diksha.

Nur for her part said, “I enjoyed my visit and am thankful to Delhi Golf Club and Indian Golf Union and the sponsors. Diksha played very well and she is young and will do well in her career.”

It was Nur who went into the lead at the second, but back-to-back birdies by Diksha saw the Indian take the lead. But then the Malaysian fought back with a long birdie on fifth. By the eighth hole, both girls had birdied three times each and were neck and neck.

Thereafter slowly but steadily, Nur started pulling away. She won the 10th as Diksha went into the bushes and on the 11th  the Malaysian looked in trouble as she went into the bunker and had a difficult lie. But she came up with a brilliant shot which landed within five feet and she holed it for a birdie, while Diksha failed to get her 20-foot downhill putt in for a similar birdie.

Once again on 13th, Nur saved a par with an excellent up-and-down, while Diksha missed a birdie and the hole was halved. “Those two holes may have been the turning point,” said Diksha, as her father, Narender Dagar agreed.

Then again on the 16th Nur had a slice of luck. Both girls found the tree off the tee, but Nur’s ball rolled towards the green and Diksha’s ball ricocheted the other way. That gave Nur the hole. On 17th Diksha overclubbed and went over the green and once again Nur won the hole to go three-up. Diksha by now was trying too hard and on the 18th her tee shot kicked and ran into thick bushes. That took Nur 4-up for first 18th.

Though Diksha kept up the fight in the second session and reduced the margin to three, the Malaysian, stayed steady with her main aim being to find the fairways and keep the ball in play. She succeeded in that while Diksha, playing catch-up, made mistakes. A couple of more mistakes and Nur was soon the winner at 7&5 to become the champion.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Author:

Aspiring Media Enthusiast, Cricket Tragic, Football Fanatic, Avid Reader, Amateur Photographer & Wannabe Sports Writer.

Cricket

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti enjoys gully cricket in Jaipur

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti enjoys gully cricket in Jaipur

Posted by: Vikram Kamboj on February 4th, 2024

Jaipur, 04 February 2024: US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti was in the pink city on Saturday where the Ambassador dropped by Rajasthan Royals’ home stadium ..

Football

LALIGA Concludes ‘Extra Time’ Webinar Series

LALIGA Concludes ‘Extra Time’ Webinar Series

Posted by: Pooja Kamboj on May 16th, 2024

Continuing to work alongside stakeholders from the sports fraternity, LALIGA, the world’s largest football ecosystem, brought the curtains down on this se ..

Tennis

Leander Paes inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame

Leander Paes inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame

Posted by: Vikram Kamboj on December 19th, 2023

Former doubles world No. 1 Leander Paes was recently elected to receive the Ultimate Honor in Tennis – induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame &# ..

F1

Life Lessons learned from Sports & Fitness #TOSBDay

Life Lessons learned from Sports & Fitness #TOSBDay

Posted by: Vikram Kamboj on September 26th, 2016

Held on Sept 1st, The Outstanding Speakers’ Bureau (TOSB) Twinterview consisted of sports panelists such as Mark Gallagher (Public Speaker on F1 race), Shayam ..

Boxing

Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker set for huge showdown

Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker set for huge showdown

Posted by: Vikram Kamboj on February 15th, 2018

It looks like it will be a scintillating couple of months for fans of elite boxing. There is the prospect of the rematch between Gennady Golovkin and Saul ‘Ca ..

Other Sports

The 2023-24 Season of the Los Angeles Clippers: A Mid-Season Review

The 2023-24 Season of the Los Angeles Clippers: A Mid-Season Review

Posted by: Vikram Kamboj on February 15th, 2024

As the 2023-24 NBA season approaches the All-Star break, the Los Angeles Clippers have emerged as a formidable force in the Western Conference, showcasing their ..

One stop guide to all the latest sports news, reviews, opinions, fixtures and live scores from India and around the world.

Copyright © 2024 | The Sports Mirror