New Delhi: Panasonic Open India has received a significant boost with the support of the Ministry of Tourism India and confirmation of live television coverage over four rounds on the Asian Tour’s global platform next week, organisers announced today.
The worldwide appeal of the Asian Tour stars and the rich heritage associated with India will be showcased throughout four days of the Panasonic Open India to over 200 countries and 650 million homes across the Live, Highlights, Magazine programmes and via the additional exposure generated by Golfing World.
Indian star Anirban Lahiri will defend his title against a strong line-up of Asian Tour players including Thai legend Thaworn Wiratchant, and Prom Meesawat, Peter Karmis of South Africa and newly crowned HANDA FALDO Cambodian Classic winner, David Lipsky of the United States.
The live broadcast of the US$300,000 Panasonic Open India, which is celebrating its second edition, will also highlight the unique and venerable Delhi Golf Club which was built amidst old temples and monuments. The tournament will be held from March 29 to April 1.
Daizo Ito - Group President, Panasonic Regional Headquarters in India said, “In its second year of Panasonic’s title sponsorship, this Golf tournament is an extension of Panasonic’s involvement with professional golf in Asia. It was a huge success last year and we aspire to make valuable additions to the tournament every year to make it more exciting for our stakeholders as well as the audience. With the introduction of Live TV, we are hoping to strengthen it even more this year and we will continue to work closely with the Asian Tour and PGTI towards the development of this game.”
Manish Sharma – Managing Director, Consumer Product Division, Panasonic India said, “In recent years, Panasonic has observed a growing need and enthusiasm for Golf in the country and thus, foresees lucrative opportunity through such associations which provide a platform to connect better with the masses. We also have the rising player Anirban Lahiri as Panasonic’s sporting brand ambassador which is in sync with our growing business in India and our aim to be the industry leader in next few years.”
Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han said the live coverage is testament to the global appeal of the Asian Tour.
“The live broadcast of the Panasonic Open India will show the wonderful attraction of the Asian Tour where our cosmopolitan members come from over 30 countries,” said Han.
“We are excited with the return of the Panasonic Open India, which is the third Asian Tour event to be staged in India this year. Golf is fast becoming a highly popular sport in India and we hope to continue growing the game by working closely with the PGTI and great sponsors like Panasonic.”
“In recent times, we have celebrated young and exciting champions from India such as Anirban Lahiri, Himmat Rai and Gaganjeet Bhullar and it is only through the staging of international-class events that our players have the platform to shine,” added Han.
Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, said: “We are delighted to work closely with the Asian Tour on promoting and enhancing the sport in India. The live television coverage will further boost the stature of the game and showcase the immense talent of the Indian and Asian golfers.
“We believe our members will make full use of the opportunity to compete against the stars from the Asian Tour. The rise in playing standard amongst Indian golfers is evident through the success of our players across the region.”
The challenging Delhi Golf Club will stage the Panasonic Open India for the second year.
The talented Indian will be riding on a rich vein of form after capping a sensational two-week stretch where he won his second Asian Tour title at the SAIL-SBI Open followed by his victory at The Open Championship International Final Qualifying - Asia in Thailand to earn his Major debut later in July.
A strong-line of Asian Tour stars including Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol, a three-time Asian Tour winner, Siddikur of Bangladesh and Ben Fox of the United States will also feature in the event.
Panasonic Open India is supporting the The Golf Foundation to raise funds for the underprivileged through birdie counts. The Golf Foundation is a Registered Charitable Society of like minded golfers who wanted to give back to the game by helping a pool of untapped talent.
The Foundation has created very successful golfers like Ashok Kumar, Rashid Khan and Chikkarangappa to name a few. Shubham Jaglan is presently on the Foundation. He is a seven-year-old prodigy who has won almost all events in his category.
