After injury setback, Haryana teen Shubham wins maiden IGU amateur title
Last year, when two-time former world junior champion Shubham Jaglan suffered a career-threatening back injury, the youngster was laid up in bed for over three months. The 13-year-old Haryana youngster, who won his second European Junior title in Scotland last July, resumed training early this year and won his first IGU amateur title when he emerged victorious in the Indian Golf Union (IGU) Samarvir Sahi Amateur Championship at the Chandigarh Golf Club on Friday. Jaglan shot an overall score of two-over-290 to win the title. Overnight leader Chandigarh youngster Yuvarj Sandhu slipped to tied-second spot along with Vinay Kumar Yadav, Harshjeet Singh Sethie, Anant Singh Ahlawat and Keshav Mishra with an overall score of five-over-293.
“After I won the European Junior title in Scotland last year, I suffered a back injury. It kept me away from the sport for more than eight months and I resumed training early this year. My coach Nonita Lal Qureshi and mentor former Asian Games gold medallist Amit Luthra helped me a lot at that time. The course here was tough as the conditions were windy. But I concentrated on playing according to my game plan. The field here was top class and to win at the home course of players like Jeev Milkha Singh sir and Shubhankar Sharma is a special feeling,” said the 13-year-old golfer.
A native of Israna village near Panipat, Shubham shifted to Delhi to train under coach Qureshi at the Delhi Golf Club and hit the headlines when he won the IMG Academy Junior World Championships in San Diego followed by the World Stars of Junior Golf in Las Vegas in 2015.
The following year, Shubham won his first European Junior title in Scotland before defending the title at Glen Golf Club in North Berwick, Scotland, last July. This year has seen Shubham playing in the IGU Northern India Amateur Championships at Noida and IGU NCR Cup played at Delhi Golf Club, finishing tied fifth and tied fourth, respectively. “Last year, I decided to turn amateur and competed in my first IGU tournament. After I defended the title in Scotland, I was aiming to play in the IGU tournaments before the injury happened. I will be playing in the Southern India Amateur Golf Championships next month. My aim is to collect valuable points to be able to get an invite from the IGU for the Asian Games trials. Apart from this, I will be playing in the IGU tournaments and the 118th Amateur Golf Championship of India to be played in Mumbai this December,” said Shubham, a student of the Laxman Public School in Delhi.
Shubham’s father Jagpal Jaglan, who had a dairy business in his native village earlier, shifted to Delhi in 2011 with his family and also caddies for the youngster. “We shifted to Delhi to support Shubham’s dream and he only thinks about golf. Last year’s injury was a setback for him but he is now ready to face the challenge in the IGU circuit. Most of the time, I caddie for him in the tournaments and it was good to see him win today,” said the 42-year-old Jagpal.