Having dominated the women’s circuit in India, Sharmila Nicollet is now eying a medal at the 2016 Olympics. Golf will make its maiden appearance at the Rio De Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
The prospect of representing the country at the Olympics has got Sharmila all excited and she is eagerly looking forward to the experience. “Winning a medal at the Olympics will be huge. I am looking forward to the 2016 Olympics,” Sharmila told The Pioneer.
“It is a huge honour to represent the country and every sportsperson dreams of competing at the Olympics.
“India has a bright future with the inclusion of golf in 2016. It would be a dream come true for me to win a medal there. I am really looking forward to it,” she said.
The 21-year-old is fully aware that finishing on the podium at the Rio Games three years from now will not be an easy task.
But she is not short of motivation, and looks up to another young compatriot in Saina Nehwal and wants to be as successful on the golfing greens as the ace shuttler has been on the badminton court.
“Saina is like an inspiration. She is young and close to my age. She really inspires me, I want to follow in her footsteps and give my sport a facelift and change the way women’s golf is looked upon in India,” Sharmila said.
“We need someone like Saina to change the image of Indian women’s golf,” she added.
The 21-year-old is working on her game after having qualified for the second time for the ladies European Tour (lET) this year.
“I have changed my swing and my ball trajectory. I need to improve my approach shots and putting as that’s one area where I lack and I have been working on it. I have become more creative with my shots, just trying to work it out all around the greens,” she said.
Talking about her future plans, she said that winning a tournament abroad is among her first priorities.
“Keeping my card will be the first priority. I’ll look to finish among top 80 and then top 30 and 20. When I do get in that zone and become consistent and regulating under-par rounds, I think winning a tournament on lET will be ideal this year and that’s my goal.”
The Bangalore girl said she has become tired playing too many tournaments and will be selective from now on.
“The problem (on lET) last year was that I was under so much pressure to secure my card, that I played almost every single tournament and couldn’t maximise my potential. There was hardly any time for practice,” she stated.
“This year, I’ll become more choosy. I will choose more important tournaments, plan my schedule accordingly so that I can practice like few weeks before the tournament,” she added.
Nicollet admitted that playing as the only Indian in lET sometimes become a lonesome experience. “My mom used to travel with me earlier but not now. I am travelling on my own. It helped me grow as a person and gave me a sense of responsibility to be able to hold myself there against all the competitors,” she said.
“I hope that few more Indian players come on tour to build a team. It’s nice to have your team.
“It had been a struggle last year, getting accustomed to the weather conditions and the players out there. I was the lone Indian there and it was really tough for me,” she said.
Despite the improvements in women’s golf in India, Sharmila feels that it will not become a big entity on the global stage unless they start winning more tournaments. “To change the perception of women’s golf in India, we need an international win. We need a win on the European or lPGA Tour.
“Winning a tournament in Europe will change the perception towards our sport,” she said.