GURUGRAM: Udayan Mane, a leading Indian professional golfer, has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Mane, 30, now joins good buddy Anirban Lahiri as the second Indian in the 60-player lineup for the men's golf event in Tokyo 2020.

After Argentina's Emiliano Grillo announced his withdrawal from the quadrennial event on Thursday, June 24, the big-built Udayan, who is now the second-highest ranked Indian in the world at 356, made the cut for his inaugural Olympics. As a result, Mane qualified for Tokyo as the first reserve against Grillo's name. 

Udayan's qualifying for the Olympics was officially announced on the International Golf Federation's (IGF) website, with Mane ranked No. 60 on the Olympic Golf Rankings list (Anirban Lahiri moved up to No. 59).

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju took to Twitter to congratulate Mane

I congratulate Udayan Mane on qualifying for #Tokyo2020 after updated Olympic rankings were released today. We now have 3 golfers representing India at #Tokyo2020. I wish them the best. #Cheer4India pic.twitter.com/Ln9eo5BoGX

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) July 6, 2021

Mane, who was born in Chennai and grew up in Bengaluru before moving to Pune, has been one of the most successful PGTI golfers while turning professional in 2015. Udayan, who stands six feet four inches tall, is an 11-time PGTI winner and one of just two players (together with Ashok Kumar) to have won three consecutive events on the tour.

Mane, who is well-read and intelligent, is also the only rookie to have won two titles on the tour in 2015. Udayan was named the PGTI Emerging Player of the Year in 2015 after placing fifth on the PGTI Order of Merit in his debut season. His greatest PGTI Rankings finish was second place in 2017.

Udayan Mane told the PGTI, "I'm tremendously excited about receiving the opportunity to represent India at the Olympics." In fact, I'm still pinching myself since it hasn't truly sunk in. With a strong 2020-21 season on the PGTI, I thought I was nearly certain of Olympic qualification, but the lockdown in India this year made me wonder if I would make the cut for Tokyo. The two tours that have lately started up are the PGA Tour and the European Tour, and I thought the players on both tours had a good chance of qualifying for the Olympics.”

“Playing on the PGTI has been a stepping stone to bigger things for many Indian players, including myself,” Udayan added. I qualified for Tokyo 2020 exclusively because of the PGTI. Despite playing on a smaller tour, I was the top-ranked Indian for the majority of the last year. So we're grateful to the PGTI for giving us so many opportunities to play and even for keeping the tour going during the pandemic.”

Interestingly, the two Indian Olympic qualifiers Lahiri and Mane share another trait. Both have the same coach, Vijay Divecha, with who they grew up training at the Eagleton Golf Resort in Bengaluru.

“I'm excited to join Anirban on the Indian team in Tokyo,” Mane remarked. 

“Intriguingly, my mother had visited Japan on multiple occasions because she worked for a medical company with a Japanese headquarters. So I know I have positive vibes in Japan, as my father assured me before I traveled for the first time

Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “On behalf of PGTI, I would like to congratulate Anirban Lahiri and Udayan Mane for having qualified for the Olympics. We wish them all the best. Udayan Mane’s qualification for the Olympics bears testament to the fact that PGTI’s inclusion in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system since 2019 has been a turning point for Indian golf as it has opened many doors for Indian players. Players not playing on any international tours but performing well on the PGTI can keep improving their world ranking and therefore earn themselves more opportunities of playing big events at the international level.”