Imphal, Sept. 30: Manipur has ventured into the hitherto unfamiliar environs of the golf course. The number of wannabe golfers in this northeastern state has increased over the years.
Manipur’s only professional golfer, Jai Kipgen, is a well-known name in the national golfing circuit.
An indication of golf’s growing popularity was the response to a training course organised by the Manipur Golf Association (MGA) at the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex.
Sources in the MGA said the training course, which began on September 8, attracted scores of inexperienced but enthusiastic golfers to the greens. “It was heartening to see golf enthusiasts teeing off under the watchful eyes of the coach,” said senior vice-president of the MGA and director of the Manipur Wireless Service, M.R. Singh.
The person chosen by MGA to improve the skills of local golfers is Mumbai-based Benny D’Costa. Originally from Goa, D’Costa is married to well-known Manipuri dance exponent Latasana.
Lauding D’Costa for his dedication to the task of popularising golf in Manipur, Singh said the MGA had requested him to make more trips to the state to continue the good work.
D’Costa, who became enamoured of golf at an early age, is a member of the Bombay Presidency Golf Club and a certified golf-club technician. He is also affiliated to the Golf Teachers’ Federation and the Professional Golfers Association of India.
Singh said D’Costa was impressed by the facilities at the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex and the people’s enthusiasm for sport. He quoted the veteran professional as saying that golf could become one of the more popular games in Manipur, provided courses were developed and training programmes organised at regular intervals.
“D’Costa has given golfers in the state ample encouragement. It is now upto them to move on,” the MGA official said.
Most of the trainees were effusive in their praise of D’Costa, though they would have liked to spend more time with him. “Under his guidance, we learnt the fundamentals of the game,” a golfer said.
The MGA’s top priority is to develop a full-fledged golf course in Manipur.
