Milkman’s son Shubham Jaglan lifts world junior golf title

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi: July 19, 2015: About three years ago, India’s former top golfer Nonita Lall Qureshi was taken by surprise by one name that kept popping up on the leader board of every small tournament for kids. Nonita, a certified coach and a talent scout for The Golf Foundation, wanted to find out more about the boy: Shubham Jaglan. But nobody seemed to know anything about him. It was, as if, the boy came from nowhere.

When she finally traced him to Israna, a village in Haryana’s Panipat district, Nonita discovered he was the son of an uneducated milkman. That Shubham trained at an abandoned agriculture field. That he practised his bunker shots from a cement mixer filled with sand. That he rehearsed chips near his angaan from a tiny grass strip with holes. That he learnt much of his golf primarily watching experts on YouTube.

On Thursday, when Shubham claimed the IMG Academy junior world championship for the 9-10 age category in San Diego, it wasn’t just another trophy on a burgeoning shelf -- he has already won over 100 tournaments -- it was a heart-warming moment of breath-taking young talent overcoming overwhelming odds with the right support.

How a village boy from Haryana picked up golf clubs is a gripping story the way Nonita tells it. It appears that an NRI set up a small golfing range in his home village of Israna. He bought the kids some equipment and hired a local caddie to teach them. But after a few months, most kids seem to lose interest. The caddie too quit, but not without leaving some equipment at Shubham’s home and telling his father that his son had real talent. Despite the setback, Shubham kept practising on weekdays. On weekends, he took a bus to the Karnal golf course to hone his game.

"Shubham would spend hours watching video tutorials on the computer. A lot of what he had learnt at that stage was self-taught. For someone just seven years of age, his understanding of the mechanics of golf was phenomenal," says Nonita, who has been coaching Shubham since he was 7.

When they met, it was evident that the family had a major decision to make: leave their home, dairy business and move to Delhi so that Shubham could play serious golf. The family needed pro-active intervention at this stage which was provided by The Golf Foundation, a charitable society formed in 2000 by golfers who wanted to give back to the game by helping a pool of talented, underprivileged golfers in India.

Former Asian Games gold medalist Amit Luthra of The Golf Foundation says that they found suitable accommodation for Shubham’s family at Ashram after encouraging them to move from Israna to Delhi.

"We bought them a Hondo Brio because he had to travel with Shubham in NCR. We ensured his father and him got a US visa. And we take care of his expenses in India and abroad," says Luthra, also a recipient of Arjuna Award. Delhi Golf Club gave him free playing facilities.

After winning the world junior championship, Jaglan praised his father for working harder than him in a Facebook post. He also credited his coach Nonita for pushing his "game and mind to this level" and to Luthra sir for "giving all day the support that I needed" "Shubham has really adjusted well to the changed culture, language and all. He goes to Laxman Public School where his grades are in good. He has balanced his game, fitness, education and free time," says his coach.

Nonita also points out that Shubham has a clear concept of golf being "a target sport." "Once his drive was just five yards off target and I said, good shot. He said, maam, how can you call that a good shot. He is focused on accuracy and hugely demanding on himself." Nonita says he loves Tiger Woods although in other interviews he lists Seve Ballesteros and Gary Player among his idols. One day, lovers of Indian golf hope that Shubham Jaglan will join the elite club.