Ashbeer Saini and Trishul Chinnappa
equally comfortable with a hockey
stick in hand
Ashbeer Saini
Ashbeer and Trishul hailing from
two traditional bastions of Indian
hockey, Punjab and the Coorg
region of Karnataka respectively, one
would have expected them to have the sport
in their genes. However, both players who
have represented India in golf at the junior
& amateur levels, have their own stories as
to how they took to the sport of hockey.
Trishul Chinnappa
Indian professional golfers Ashbeer Saini
and Trishul Chinnappa also happen to be
skilled hockey players.
Kapurthala-based Ashbeer Saini, a
winner on the PGTI Feeder Tour in 2018,
comes from a familyof hockey players
of international repute. Saini’sfather
Balwinder Singh and uncle Baljit Singh
Saini (two-time Olympian and 1998
Bangkok Asian Games Gold Medalist)
have both played hockey for India. So, it
was natural for Ashbeer to take to hockey.
Ashbeer said, “I used to play hockey
regularly till I was about 10 years old. But
at the same time on the weekends I would
play golf with my father. It was then that
Gaganjeet Bhullar’s father Mr. Harbhajan
Bhullar was impressed by my golf swing
and advised my father to make me pursue
golf seriously.
“Even now after becoming a professional
golfer, I enjoy playing hockey at home
in Kapurthala on Mondays when the golf
course is closed. It’s something that helps
me with my �tness and also helps me
relax,” added Saini, who generally plays in
the forward line.
Trishul Chinnappa, who grew up and went
to school in Bengaluru, was passionate
about sports from the very start and thus
played multiple sports including golf and
hockey through his years of schooling.
Chinnappa was introduced to golf by his
fatherat the tender age of three and went on
to play the sport at the international level.
But being a keen sportsman,he also played
a lot of competitive hockey at the school
level.
Trishul, who like Ashbeer also plays as a
forward in hockey, said, “My ancestral
home Coorg has a rich legacy in hockey
and as a result some of my family members
did play the sport. However, I took up
hockey while at school in Bengaluru as
I was always very athletic and enjoyed
playing multiple sports.
“I still play hockey whenever I get timeas
it’s a lot of fun, involves a lot of athleticism
and keeps my adrenaline going. It also adds
value for a golfer like me as it contributes
in improving my �tness, hand-eye
coordination and ball sense.”
Content Editor: Nikhil Kalaan, Media Manager, PGTI
GolfPlus JULY 2020 57