HYDERABAD: Last year, right after the Rio Olympics, Indian golfers came under the umbrella of anti-doping, when the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) decided to follow international doping guidelines. With the season opener, PGTI Players Championship at the Noida Golf Course in early February, some players — Honey Baisoya, Shamim Khan and Gaurav Pratap Singh among others — were tested after the championship.
Though the move has to be followed in all international events, it will only be in a select few tournaments where golfers will be randomly picked for tests. It is noteworthy that such tests are a regular affair on other international tours.
“As you know, golf is an Olympic sport now, and dope tests are conducted on all the other professional tours, so we just want to match global standards in all spheres of golf,” Uttam Kumar Munday, director of PGTI, told Express.
“It’s a new thing for us, as well as for all the professional golfers — new and old. We’re trying to create more awareness regarding the same by conducting workshops.
“The ones who keep participating abroad are well aware of the rules, do’s and don’ts,” Mundy added.
Even the golfers have welcomed the move, and they all believe that golf is already a clean sport, but there is no harm in complying with international guidelines.
Baisoya, who won the Players Championship at Noida, and finished tied 12th at the Golconda Masters this week in Hyderabad, says, “It’s good that doping rules have come in place. Though any performance-enhancement drugs won’t help golfers, this is just a precautionary measure.”
madhav@newindianexpress.com