Ghei, Mundy, Bhandari to tee-off sans schoolmate Daniel Chopra

New Delhi, Mar 27 (UNI) Not many would have known that talented golfer Daniel Chopra who is a big name on the prestigious USPGA tour, learnt the intricacies of the game during his years at Modern School here and his favourite club till date remains the Delhi Golf Club.

In fact, it came as a pleasant surprise that some of the leading professional golfers including Indian-born Swede Daniel Chopra, Gaurav Ghei, Shiv Kapur, Uttam Mundy, Vivek Bhandari and Naman Dawar owe their lineage to the same alma mater -- Modern school.

This was revealed to mediapersons today by members of the Modern School Old Students Association (MSOSA), a vibrant alumni body established in 1957, which is organising a Golden Jubilee Golf tournament to be played at the Delhi Golf Club on March 30 to celebrate the completion of 50 years of the school.

While Chopra will be unable to play in the event due to his ongoing engagements on the USPGA tour, Ghei, Mundy, Bhandari and Naman will fight it out among themselves in the friendly battle.

In a written statement, Chopra expressed his disappointment at not being able to make it for the cause but appreciated and lauded his school for providing him the platform to make it big internationally.

All of them were sent by the school to compete at the All World Inter-school Golf championship at Scotland at various points of time.

So it does not come as a surprise when they owe their achievements to the exposure and laying of their foundation in their schooling years.

Twenty seven year-old Naman Dawar seemed excited at the prospect of playing some of his higher-ranked schoolmates like Ghei and Bhandari.

Dawar, who is ranked 18th on the PGTI tour says, ''All Modernites are very passionate about sports. I am here to show my solidarity and lend my name to the cause.'' The school's principal Lata Vaidyanathan pointed out that her school was the only one in the country which produced such a huge number of professionals in various fields.

Former disinvestment minister Arun Shourie, former Chief Justice B N Kirpal, cricketers Kirti Azad and Gautam Gambhir, are all alumni of the school.

UNI