IIT Golf Tournament - 2006
The TAA(Delhi Chapter) held the first IIT Golf Tournament open to all IITians on 8th April 2006. This was a signal event which was held to send a signal to IIT alumni, particularly those who are just graduating or have been working for a few years, that Golf is the most important game in the
corporate events calendar. Throughout the world golf is the one unifying force for business executives. In India too golf has been growing exponentially, both in terms of facilities and number of players.
Read on for photos and a full report.
This tournament was made possible by the generous sponsorship of two IITians Mr Vin Gupta (InfoUSA & OneSource) and Mr Ravinder N Khanna (Control and Switchgear Group). In addition there was sponsorship from Honda Cars and Speedo.
The original idea took shape in the Delhi Golf Club between Mr Ashok Singh (President of the TAA, Delhi Chapter), Mr C Chaudhuri (Ranji - 1964 ME, RP Hall), Kamal Mahay (1961 EE) and Mr Kamaljeet Singh Bains ( 1957 CE). It took 2 years for the idea to be converted into action. This was thanks to support of Vin Gupta, RN Khanna and Vinod Sobti.
The tournament committee was set up to take the tournament idea forward. The best event manager for golf (Tiger Sports Marketing) was contacted and discussions started around mid Feb 06 to get the idea off the ground. The first estimates for the tournament which was designed for half a day to be held in NCR for around 90 participants was Rs. 13 lacs. This was well beyond our expectation and we set about collecting the funds. After a positive okay from Ravinder N Khanna and Vin Gupta (who was contacted by Vinod Sobti) we gave the go ahead but pruned the budget to Rs. 8 lacs. Collection of
sponsorships began in earnest and thanks to the efforts of our Executive Committee member Sunil K Jain (1975, EE)and Tiger Sports we were able to tie up further sponsorships to complete the fund raising.
The Tournament was held on 8th Apr 06 at 8.00 am in Golden Greens Golf and Country Club near Manesar on the Jaipur Highway. This Club has a course designed in the Links format (like the original courses in Scotland) and is a real test of golfing skill. We had a total of 80 entries of whom around 70
turned out. One of the attractions of the tournament was the participation of Mr Sabeer Bhatia (non IITian) who pioneered the way to making good business from internet based entrepreneurship. Other prominent IITians were Mr JK Chandra (The first IITian in India - Roll No. 1 from IIT-KGP), Mr
Vijay Thandani (CEO of NIIT IIT-Delhi), Jaspal Singh (Director-Refineries, IOCL), Maj Gen Inderjit Singh (ADGEME(, Prof Probir Gupta (Dean of VGSOM) and others.
On a very hot day, excellent arrangements of soft drinks, water and snacks along the course ensured that everyone completed the 18 holes. At the Clubhouse drinks and lunch were ready for the weary participants. After a period of relaxation and fellowship the prize distribution took place. The prizes were given away by Mr JK Chandra, Mr Asutosh Dayal Sharma and Mr Ashok Singh. The keenly awaited announcement of the best team was shall we say as expected, the team of Arvind Thakur, Ashok Singh and NB Mishra of IIT Kharagpur. A championship plaque is being made and will be sent to IIT Kharagpur to Mr Probir Gupta (Dean of VGSOM) for display at Kharagpur.
The curtain was brought down on the first IIT Golf Tournament after the vote of thanks by Mr Ashok Singh( president Delhi chapter ).
Photos from the tournament are here.
