CHENNAI: Earlier this week, Shubhankar Sharma became the first Indian sportsperson to fly out of the country to take part in a competitive event. On Thursday, the 24-year-old will tee off at the English Open at the Marriott Forest of Arden in Birmingham.
Sharma entered a special bio-bubble, created by the European Tour, to enable the meet to go ahead, as soon as he touched down at Birmingham. Even before entering the bubble he was subject to two COVID-19 tests.
"He flew out of Delhi yesterday morning, before leaving Chandigarh he had one test," his father Mohan told this daily on Wednesday. "He had another test upon landing at Birmingham."
As part of the bubble, the only places Sharma will be allowed to visit is the hotel and the course. "The European Tour has created this bubble and all he can do is wake up in his room, go to the golf course and come back to his room after the round," Mohan added.
"Needed almost a spacesuit to reach Birmingham, guys. But once in the bubble, life is back to normal. Some passion and planning by the @EuropeanTour," Sharma had tweeted on Tuesday night.
Sharma will take part in five consecutive events.
After the English Open, he will play the English Championship (Hertfordshire), Celtic Classic and the Wales Open (both in Newport) before rounding out his assignments with an appearance at the UK Championship at Sutton Coldfield. All these events are part of the European Tour and will be held in a bio bubble.
This could give Sharma an advantage to sneak up on the world rankings. After being in the top 70 in March 2018, his ranking has steadily fallen to 316. But do well in the next few weeks and he could well leapfrog the likes of Shiv Kapur (World No 315), Udayan Mane (236) and Rashid Khan (201). Easier said than done because Sharma, in 2020, has not been in form. In the six events that he has featured in, he missed the cut in four.
Even as other Indians on the European Tour — Gaganjeet Bhullar and SSP Chawrasia — went on record saying they will skip it because of travel concerns, Sharma, while speaking to The New Indian Express earlier this month, said he was game.
"It's a risk but I am open to taking that risk," he had said. "It might take a long time till the vaccine comes out so this is going to be the norm. We just need to take precautions and be safe... just be aware of our health and expect the best."
The first part is complete. Now to rediscover his touch for the course.