Kaya and Nirekh represent Sri Lanka Junior Golf at R&A Junior Open Championship in Scotland
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Kaya Daluwatte and Niresh Tejwani at the R&J Junior Open
Junior Golf in Sri Lanka has been nurtured with dedication and commitment over the past 10 years and two talented juniors have been selected to represent Sri Lanka Golf at the prestigious R&A Junior Open 2022, which coincides with the 150th British Open Championship, which took place from July 10 to 17 at St. Andrews.
A dynamic two-member junior team represented Sri Lanka, with Kaya Daluwatte playing in the R&A Girls Junior Open Championship, whilst Nirekh Tejwani participated in the R&A Boys Junior Open Championship, played at the 6,655 yards, Par 71 Monifieth Golf Course in Scotland, just 30 minutes from the iconic St. Andrews Golf Course, which hosted the historic 150th British Open Championship.
Kaya Daluwatte, an aspiring athlete of 13-years, who began playing golf at the age of seven, fell in love with the game within months and today she holds a handicap of 4 and is the youngest member of the Sri Lanka Golf Women’s national squad. Kaya is the winner of the Sri Lanka Junior Open Golf Championship played in December, 2021 in the Gold Division Girls 12-18+ cateogry and is the current RCGC Ladies Section Club reigning champion.
“I am honoured to represent Sri Lanka at the prestigious Junior British Open this year, and to play against the best in the world in my category, and was really excited to watch my favourite players at the 150th British Open Championship,” an elated Kaya stated.
The two-member Sri Lanka Junior team also comprised Nirekh Tejwani, a highly talented long-hitting, 16-year-old with great promise for the future. Nirekh took his first steps into the world of golf at the tender age of four and won his first tournament – Sri Lanka Junior Open Golf Championship Copper Division at the age of nine. Over the last seven years he has participated and ranked in over 50 tournaments locally and overseas.
Some of his noteworthy performances include overall winner at the Sri Lanka Junior Open Golf Championships in 2018 and 2019, gaining third place in the IGU All India Junior Golf Championship (Category ‘C’) in 2018, winning the 2020 Maclauchlan Cup and HSBC Premier Junior Golf Championship. Nirekh has been ranked first nationally three times and second twice in the relevant age category between 2016 and 2020. He is eagerly looking forward to representing Sri Lanka at the prestigious R&A Junior British Open Championship in 2022.
“I am honoured and excited to be able to represent my country. This was a fantastic opportunity for me to compete and meet golfers of my age group from around the world,” said a smiling Nirekh Tejwani, on the threshold of his debut representation at international level.
The two youngsters represented Sri Lanka in the Girls and Boys R&A Junior Open Championship, and was accompanied by Niloo Jayatilake, the Chairperson of Sri Lanka Junior Golf, representing Sri Lanka Golf at this historic and world’s premier golfing headquarters the R&A in Scotland, along with Tharanga Gunasekara, as representatives of Sri Lanka Golf assigned to the Junior Golf Development programme.
“I am thrilled to be abe to accompany our junior golfers who played the prestigious Junior British Open at Monifieth this year and it was indeed a happy sight to withness them compete amongst the very best in the world. In addition, receiving a pass to witness the 150th British Open was a dream come true for me, especially as the competition celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. I am quite excited to be part of the 300,000 viewers who descended on St. Andrews, the iconic headquarters of golf in the world, and the historic event, soon to be part of golfing history,” Niloo Jayatilake said.
Sri Lanka can be hopeful of a good showing by these two immensely talented and dedicated young golfers from Sri Lanka.