Anirban Lahiri and I will make a strong pair for Tokyo Games, says Gaganjeet Bhullar

DUBAI: They have always been touted as the best Indian pair in golf with a long list of solid performances in team competitions. Both began as amateurs around the same time and went on to win a silver medal at the Doha Asian Games in 2006. The duo turned professional within a year and represented the country in international team competitions like the World Cup of Golf, where they most recently registered the second-best result by an Indian pair – a tied10th finish – at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in November 2018.The duo of Jyoti Randhawa and Arjun Atwal had finished tied ninth in 2005.
We are talking about Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri. Bhullar, who is competing in the US $3.25 million Omega Dubai Desert Classic here at the Emirates Golf Club, strongly believes that a reunion with his old partner Lahiri will help him pose a strong challenge for a medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“Till now, friends and golf writers talk about our medal in 2006 Doha Asiad. To get a medal for your homeland and becoming an Olympian is something you cherish for the rest of your life. There aren’t many Olympians or Olympic medal winners from India. We have been strong teammates – be it as junior, amateur. He (Anirban) is on a different tour (PGA Tour), but till 2013-14 we were neck-to-neck in individual finishes. We represented the country in the World Cup of Golf and other team events too and had some fabulous results,” Bhullar told TOI after finishing his third round.
Bhullar was lying tied-53rd even as another Indian Shubhankar Sharma bowed out of the weekend rounds with scores of 77, 75.
Bhullar says Lahiri’s presence also helped improve his game technically. Realistically, the pair can stake a claim to represent India only when they feature in the top-200 of the Official World Golf Rankings, with Rashid Khan the only one from the country inside that mark (ranked 177th) with consecutive top-10 finishes in the Asian Tour’s Hong Kong Open (sixth) and SMBC Singapore Open (tied eighth).
“Both of us helped each other a lot – mentally and technically. There were many instances when he pinpointed a few things lacking in my game which I worked on and improved and vice versa. But now, we are on different tours. He is on the east coast in Florida and I am on the west coast in California, so meeting him has been difficult,” said the nine-time Asian Tour champion.
The sentiments were echoed by Lahiri too, sometime back, when he picked Bhullar as his playing partner for the 2018 World Cup of Golf after Chikkrangappa pulled out. “He’s got a really solid all-around game and practically no weaknesses… We go back a long way. We have good chemistry on the course and understand each other’s game well. I think we will combine for a strong Team India,” Lahiri had said.