By IANS,
New Delhi: The Indian team qualified for the World Junior Golf Team Championship by winning the Asian qualifiers that concluded at the Perak Royal Golf Club in Malaysia Thursday.
The team comprising Rashid Khan, Chikkarangappa, Ashbeer Saini and Abhijit Chadha finished tied for top place alongside Thailand to book their spot in the world stage of the championship which will be held in Japan in June.
Delhi lad Rashid bagged another international title as he led the individual standings with a three-day total of five-under 211. Team India matched Thailand’s mark with an aggregate of six-over 654 in the three rounds.
Only two teams qualify for the final stage from Asia. Korea finished in third place, five shots behind the tied winners at 11-over 659. This is the third time that the Indian team has made it to the final stage of the World Junior Golf Team Championship.
The last two times before this that the team qualified for the world stage was in 2007 and 2008.
With four players representing each team, the three best cards were selected to make up the team total in each round. Team India started off in great fashion, opening up an eight-shot lead after the first day with Rashid and Bangalore boy Chikkarangappa leading the way for India with rounds of 68 and 67 respectively.
A second-round stutter for the team resulted in the lead being whittled down to just two shots. But despite the setback, the Indian team managed to do enough on the final day to hold a share of the lead and grab their ticket to Japan.
In the final, the team will face stiff competition as close to 15 teams from around the world will play in the event.
Team Standings
654: India, Thailand
659: Korea
667: Chinese Taipei
669: Korea A