ORION 36th Bangladesh Amateur Golf Championship 2023 Sri Lanka’s Chalitha Pushpika placed 13th; Reshan Algama 24th

Sri Lanka’s Chanaka Perera, Chalitha Pushpika, Reshan Algama

The ORION 36th Bangladesh Amateur Golf Championship 2023 concluded at the Kurmitola Golf Course Army Containment on Saturday with a thrilling final round in which Aarav Shah, three strokes behind the leader Subash Tamang of Nepal going into the final round, scored his 3rd 2 under par 70 to eventually win the championship by a comfortable 3 strokes as young Tamang probably succumbed to the pressure of the final round and carded a 3 over par 75.

Shah, joint leader after round, was overhauled by the sensational 6 under par 66 fired by Tamang, who shot into the lead in round 2 and maintained the lead after round 3 from the consistent Shah, who eventually grabbed the lead again in the final sprint to the finish and was creditably crowned Bangladesh Amateur Golf Champion 2023.
Meanwhile, M.H. Chalitha Pushpika of the Sri Lanka Navy played consistent golf through the 4 rounds and was the best finisher from Sri Lanka, finishing in 13th place on 302,14 over par, 18 strokes behind the champion, Shah.

Reshan Algama, the 15-year-old left-handed golfer making his debut and representing Sri Lanka Golf, performed with much credit, improving with each round and carding a 3 over par 75 in the final 4th round of the Championship, finishing in a tie for 24th place with M.U. Chanaka Perera, the experienced former Sri Lanka National Champion ranked #1 currently.
Reshan’s performance is all the more worthy as in his debut appearance on a challenging golf course playing among seasoned golfers from many parts of the world, he held his nerve, rose to the occasion, belying his young age, and proved the Selectors decision to pick Reshan to make his debut. Reshan playing the Kurmitola Golf Course, which is up to international standards, for the first time clearly overshadowed the experienced Perera, who has played the same course for many years now.

The emergence of Reshan and other juniors, including Nirekh Tejwani, who is the current Sri Lanka Amateur Golf Champion for 2022 after beating Perera last year, gives hope for the future of amateur golf in Sri Lanka and provides a platform and springboard to the professional golf tour internationally.(SJ)