E-Paper
Bobby Chahal re-elected Chandigarh Golf Club president
Defeats Major Rajinder Singh Virk (retd) by 29 votes; of the 1,800 registered club members, 1,150 voted on Sunday; Chahal bagged 591 votes, while Virk got 562 votes
The verdict is out. Lt Col HS Chahal (retd), popular as Bobby Chahal, has been re-elected president of the Chandigarh Golf Club as he beat rival Major Rajinder Singh Virk (retd) by 29 votes.
Of the 1,800 registered club members, 1,150 turned out to vote on Sunday during the elections. Chahal bagged 591 votes, while Virk got 562 votes.
Victory margin narrows down
In the last elections, Chahal had pipped Virk by a 99-vote margin. The last management served for a 10-month period as the annual elections had been delayed and held in March in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking after the win, Chahal, 69, said, “The members have reposed faith in me. I will work for the betterment of the club and create more opportunities like golf league. As I said earlier, our work speaks for itself. We, as a team, worked to the best of our ability. We will strive to do more and make the coming year more interesting and fruitful.”
The Chandigarh Golf Club had last year successfully organised the first Chandigarh Golf League for members, which had received a positive response.
Speaking about the league’s success, golfer Yuvraj Sandhu said, “It was definitely pathbreaking to host our own league. They added feathers to their cap. The course also saw improvements. I would love to see it achieve international standards. It is always a privilege playing at the club course, but some changes can definitely help raise the bar. I wish all the best to the newly elected committee.”
Echoing the sentiment, golfer Karandeep Kochhar said, “It was heartening to see Chandigarh Golf club roll out their own league. Participation from women golfers was like icing on the cake. I would love to see the club management improve the gymnasium and appoint more trainers and golf coaches.”
“Also, there should be some relaxation in rules for junior golfers. They should be encouraged to compete and use the course,” he added.
Chahal, meanwhile, said, “I am re-elected as president because we as a team could perform diligently. We would like to make some changes in the league this time and organise it a bit earlier so that the days are longer and the members who do not wish to compete in the league can use the course. Also, it has been decided in the AGM that we will build an all-weather swimming pool in the coming months.”
Golfer Harmeet Kahlon said the management did their best in the last 10 months, before acknowledging the league’s success and changes to the course. “Now they have more time at hand and should be working on more goals. The league can be held in a more structured and planned manner in order to make it more interesting and competitive,” Kahlon added.
As many as 23 members had also contested for a spot in the executive committee. Among the 11 to be elected were Amarinder Singh Aulakh (628 votes), Captain Mohan Bir Singh (628), Alamgir Singh Grewal (575), Agnish Rajesh (565), Satbir Singh (541), Col Karan Thandi (522), Brig TS Mundi (513), Gursimran Sethi (512), Gursharan Singh Sandhu (505), Chitwan Mann (492) and Shona Singh (473).
