Shubham Jaglan

Apart from politics, terrorism, festivals, and epidemics, the only other thing that has the ability to unite our entire country is ‘Sports’. Usually, if you stroll around in any part of India, the maximum number of kids would be found playing cricket. The simple reason is that cricket can be played in a group of 10–15 people. All you need is a small area, 1 bat and 1 ball. An excellent and consistent performance by our Cricket team at international events has resulted in the huge popularity of this sport.

In a country where cricket is considered a religion, Shubham Jaglan, a young boy from a small village, Israna in Panipat district of Haryana has other dreams. A set of clubs, no more than 14, of varying lengths and sizes, a set of golf balls, and a golf bag-this is his life.

Shubham was just a 5-year-old kid when he was introduced to Golf. He was from a family of wrestlers and everyone assumed that he would also follow the same path but his grandfather took him to a golf academy against the family’s wishes. The golf academy was established in his village by Kapur Singh who was an NRI. This particular incident shaped Shubham’s life. Even though the academy had to be shut down early, Kapur Singh noticed the young boy’s talent and insisted him to continue with golf. He gave Shubham some used equipment and Shubham decided to give it a try. If golfing didn’t work out wrestling was always an option, in the back of his mind.

Shubham continued his practice in a field in the backyard which was transformed by his father with flat green covering and 3 holes. When he couldn’t get entry into a junior event, he ended up coming in contact with Mr. Amit Luthra, the founder of the Golf Foundation which provides support to underprivileged golfers. The scout for the foundation, today his coach, Mrs. Nonita Lall Qureshi came to meet him in his village and watching his talent and performance, decided to move Shubham to Delhi.

After coming to Delhi with his parents, the foundation helped him get playing rights and financial support from the Delhi Golf Club, which is his home club. He has the amazing support of his core team which includes his coach, Mrs. Nonita Lal Qureshi, his physical trainer Mr. Sandy Parihar, his physiotherapist Dr. Ravindar Kumar and dietician Mr. Shah Fahad. The foundation also helped him get into the Laxman Public School in Delhi. Shubham says that his teachers and his friends have been very supportive and helpful in getting him extra classes and notes. The teachers are always ready to help him in every way they can. The school always allows him to play as many events as he likes, which is a very common problem we hear from most of the young players. So far, it’s been easy to balance both and he hopes that it stays the same.

At such a young age he already has many achievements under his name. He has won more than 100 events. Shubham has completed as No. 1 on the Indian junior merit list and that too a number of times. He has also won four world junior events and two ‘European Championships’ for his age group. The most of recent Championship he claimed was in Scotland last year by nine shots.

When asked about his special possession, Shubham says that it is the ‘IMG Academy Junior World Championship’ title from 2015. The trophy also has the names of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson inscribed on it.

He intends to play regularly on the PGA Tour and become India's first major winner. He also has been a public speaker for Josh Talk & Ted Ex. Shubham is one of the youngest amateur winners on Indian tour (open to all age groups) in 2018 at the Samarvir Sahi Amateur Golf Championship.

His future plan includes focusing on fitness, swing changes, etc. and also to become India No. 1 Amateur in 2020. He wishes to represent India in overseas events and make his parents proud.

Sports, as any other hot career does, offers an abundance of opportunities for you. During the past days, the popular mindset was always that sports are good for the mind and body but it cannot help you as an income source. Lately, this mindset leads to the acceptance of various sports and sports-related activities as successful career options. Shubham Jaglan will be an inspiration for the youngsters of the coming generation to take the road less taken. Apart from being an active player, there are various other options in the field like sports management, sports medicine, sports journalism, adventure sports, and fitness-health clinics. They have now become a full-fledged and highly paid careers options.