Shiv Kapur, final to win Asian Games gold in golf for India, hopeful two-decade-long medal wait will finish

NEW DELHI: More than twenty years after successful India’s solely particular person Asian Games golf gold, Shiv Kapur believes the nation’s present crop of golfers has the expertise to carry one other medal residence from Nagoya.The golf competitors on the 2026 Asian Games begins on Sept 30, with India fielding a six-member contingent comprising Yuvraj Sandhu, Veer Ahlawat and Saptak Talwar within the males’s occasion, and Pranavi Urs, Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok within the ladies’s competitors.Kapur, who scripted historical past along with his particular person gold on the 2002 Busan Games, mentioned that medal stays the defining achievement of his profession and hopes the lengthy wait lastly involves an finish. “It’s been greater than 20 years since my gold medal, and I’m hoping this crew breaks that jinx. Even at the moment, that medal stays the largest achievement of my profession as a result of it belonged to India as a lot because it belonged to me,” Kapur, now 44, mentioned on the sidelines of an IGPL occasion in Delhi.India has steadily emerged as certainly one of Asia’s strongest {golfing} nations, with a number of gamers competing in Asia and Ladies European Tour. Kapur feels the expertise inside the squad, mixed with the boldness gained from latest transnational performances, offers India a real probability of difficult for medals in each crew and particular person occasions.Having represented India throughout a number of editions of the Asian Games, Kapur mentioned the event carries a novel emotional weight that’s not like any skilled occasion. “When you’re enjoying for India, it’s fully completely different. Every shot means extra since you’re representing the nation, not simply your self. That’s what made Busan so particular for me,” he mentioned.The former Asian Games star additionally believes Indian golf is coming into an encouraging section, with a stronger home construction producing gamers able to competing persistently on the highest degree.As Nagoya approaches, Kapur hopes the subsequent chapter of India’s Asian Games story will belong to a brand new technology, as he concluded, “Records are supposed to be damaged. I’d be happier than anybody if certainly one of these boys or ladies comes again with the gold. That’s how Indian golf strikes ahead.”