Buoyed by the Arjuna award conferred on him this year, rising Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar is determined to pull off a repeat victory at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship next week.
The talented Indian received a huge confidence boost ahead of his campaign for the second half of the Asian Tour season when he received the Arjuna award from the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee last week.
"It is exciting and a great achievement to be able to receive the Arjuna Award at such a young age. I'm very proud," said the 25-year-old Bhullar, who joined fellow Indian golfers Jeev Milkha Singh, Shiv Kapur, Jyoti Randhawa and Arjun Atwal as recipients of the award.
With his confidence boosted, Bhullar will now aim for a successful title defence at the USD 500,000 Yeangder TPC at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club from September 12 to 15.
His victory at the Yeangder TPC 12 months ago sparked a sensational run of form on the Asian Tour where he went on to win the Venetian Macau Open for his second title in 2012. He ended the year fifth on the Order of Merit for his career's best finish so far.
"The Yeangder TPC was a tournament that gave me a lot of confidence. Before that, I was giving it 100 per cent but the results were not showing. That week, I realised my game was coming back and I just needed to get into contention and get a victory under my belt, which I did," said Bhullar.
"I was hitting the ball so good that week and I played well on the par fives. I was very focussed, calm and relaxed. I just told myself to give it whatever I could and not hold back," he added.
