Sports News | Mannat Positive Ahead of Asia Pacific Amateurs in Vietnam
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Brimming with confidence after her recent performances, Mannat Brar is hopeful of making an impact as she leads the six-member Indian team at the 2025 Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Golf Championships, the top-tier event for amateur golfers in the region.
Da Nang (Vietnam), Mar 4 (PTI) Brimming with confidence after her recent performances, Mannat Brar is hopeful of making an impact as she leads the six-member Indian team at the 2025 Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Golf Championships, the top-tier event for amateur golfers in the region.
The 17-year-old Mannat, who is the reigning all India Ladies champion, hit the spotlight by becoming the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of the R&A Girls last year in Yorkshire.
The other five players in the Indian Golf Union's squad are Zara Anand, Saanvi Somu, Heena Kang, Kashika Misra and Guntas Kaur Sandhu, all of whom have done well on the domestic IGU circuit.
Of the six, Mannat with three previous starts at the WAAP is the most experienced, while Saanvi Somu and Heena Kang were part of the Indian team last year in Thailand. Saanvi made the cut on her debut.
Mannat, who finished third last week while playing in a pro event in India, said, "I have had a good year in 2024 and also in early 2025. Hopefully I can do better in WAAP also.
"I want to stay as an amateur and experience some of the best courses in the world, before turning pro. I have played pro events in India and done well, and I will turn pro, but maybe after a couple of years.
"The WAAP is easily the best events we in Asia get to play and the incentives are fantastic with starts at some of the Majors."
The Indian team also has three WAAP debutants, with Zara Anand, who was a semi-finalist at the 2024 All India Ladies and a finalist the year before in 2023, as the best ranked.
She is just outside 400th in the world and right behind Mannat Brar in world rankings.
Of the other two, Kashika Misra achieved one of her best results, winning the Northern India ladies late last year, where she finished ahead of Mannat.
Guntas Kaur Sandhu won the Maharashtra Ladies in a strong field that had Zara, Heena and Mannat.
The best Indian result at the WAAP was T-9 by Anika Varma in 2021 and last year Avani Prashanth was T-10. Avani has since turned professional.
Interestingly most of the Indian amateur girls have also had a taste of pro competitions at the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour in India.
Saanvi has finished runner-up no less than four times, while Mannat, Zara and Heena have also produced good results.
The WAAP, developed by The R&A and Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, provides a pathway for Asia's elite female amateurs.
The winner earns invitations to play in three major championships – the AIG Women's Open, the Amundi Evian Championship and The Chevron Championship -- as well as elite championships such as the Hana Financial Group Championship, ISPS HANDA Women's Australian Open, the 122nd Women's Amateur Championship and the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)