Lakshman Singh

Calcutta: The Asian Games gold-winning golfer Lakshman Singh has termed India’s silver-winning performance in Doha as “a fabulous effort.”

“The quartet of Gaganjit Bhullar, Anirban Lahiri, Chirag Kumar and Joseph Chakola thoroughly deserved this medal. They not only ended the 24-year-old drought (in team event), but their achievement has come at the right time for India when a lot of players is ruling the pro-Tour across the globe,” Singh, a key member of the gold-winning golf team in the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, said on Tuesday.

Shiv Kapur, it may be noted, won the gold in individual event in Busan four years ago.

According to the veteran golfer, the game has undergone a sea-change between his time and now, but hard work still remains the key to success. “There shouldn’t be a comparison between our performance and the current one. But this one (in Doha) is creditable for it came overseas,” he pointed out.

The city-based, Singh, feels that they had to wait for so long to claim another team medal because “the combination didn’t click on previous occasions.”

“This time around, Gaganjit, Chirag and others have been consistent performers throughout the year and their efforts have paid off,” he added.

Of the silver-winning four, Singh believes, Gaganjit and Chirag are capable of shining on the pro-Tour as well.