THE WORLD PORTAL

JEEV MILKHA SINGH

Jeev Milkha Singh is the most popular Golfer in India. He is currently the highest ranked Indian Golfer in the World. He has performed well in the professional circuit and India is proud with his numerous achievements and awards. Jeev Milkha had done a number of tournaments in US, and also he was the first Indian Golfer to become a member of the European tour and the US tour. He is currently selected as Asia’s top Ranked golf player.

BIOGRAPHY

Jeev Milkha Singh was born on December 15, 1971 in Chandigarh, India. He is from one of the most famous sporting families in India. His father named Milkha Singh was a famous Indian Olympic athlete and mother Nirmal Kaur, former captain of Indian women’s volleyball team. He won his first amateur tournament, the American Express Championship in Delhi at the age of only 13. When he was only 17 years old, he represented India in the Eisenhower Trophy in the year of 1988. He again represented his country in the same tournament in 1992. After passing the school level, he got admitted degree in business and international studies in Abilene Christian University in 1996. Jeev had won the NCAA Division II individual golf championship in 1993.He had also won a number of amateur Golf tournaments in the U.S during his study period. In the same year, he had made his first professional win at the Southern Oklahoma State Open. That was a minor local event. He had won the ‘Shinhan Donghae Open’ in 1994, though it was not an Asian Tour event. In 1995, he had won both the ‘Philippine Classic’ and ‘Asian Match Play Championship’. He had gained the title of ‘Philip Morris Asia Cup’ in 1996. In 1997, he had finished seventh at the European tour qualifying school. In 1999, Jeev Mikha had gained the 50th rank on the order of merit in Europe and he became champion in the ‘Lexus International’ in the same year. Jeev Milkha had struggled with injury in the early years of the new century but in April 2006 he had won the ‘Volvo China Cup’ and in the same year he had also won the Asian tour. He became popular to Americans since his successes in 2005. In 2007, he was achieved another history in his life, because he became the first Indian golfer to participate in the ‘Masters Tournament’. He was represented Indian Golf in ‘Alfred Dunhill Cup’ and also represented Asia in 2007 ‘Royal Trophy’. In the same year, he was honored with the prestigious ‘Padma Shri Award’. In 2008, he had achieved the highest ranking for an Indian in any major event at the ‘2008 PGA Championship’ in Oakland Hills. He was finished at T9 and also made him India’s best golfer ever. In the European Tour Season, he had ranked 12th on the order of merit and after winning the ‘Barclays Singapore Open’ won his second order of merit title on the Asian tour. He had also won the Asian Tour Players ‘Player of the Year Award’ in 2008. In 2009, he had finished the ‘WGC-VA Championship’ in fourth place after leading round one.

ASIAN YOUTH GAMES 2009

Asian Youth Games is an international multi-sports event which is supplementing to the Asian Games. It was held in every four years and the first Asian Youth Games is held in Singapore. It is set to start on June 29, 2009 and come to an end on July 7, 2009. The Youth Games consists of 90 sporting events, and it is also considered as the qualifier for the Asian counties to the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. The 1000 athletes aged between 14 and 17 from 43 countries are competing in more than 80 sporting events. Swimming, diving, athletics, 3-on-3 basketball, beach volleyball, bowling, football, sailing, shooting and table tennis etc are the events included in this game . Toa Payoh Swimming Complex, Bishan Stadium, Siloso Beach, Jalan Besar Stadium etc is the venues of this game. The emblem of this game was designed by Brainwave Design and the logo represents Asian values of excellence, unity, friendship, sportsmanship, and diversity. The theme song is “Asia’s Youth, Our Future ” which carries the message of hope and friendship. It was composed by musician Iskandar Ismail and written jointly by Jose Raymond and Hoo Cher Liek. Nathan Hartono and Lian Kim Selby are the singers of this song. ‘Frasia’, which means Friends of Asia, is the name of the official mascot for this game. The active lion depicts the friendship, respect and excellence. It constitutes a spirited representation of young hearts and minds in search of sporting excellence. Singapore’s television channel, MediaCorp Channel 5, StarHub TV etc is broadcasting this event  daily. In addition, this event is organized by ‘Singapore Sports Council’. The opening ceremony of the inaugural Asian Youth Games was held in the Singapore Indoor Stadium. More than 1400 performers from 20 schools and tertiary institutions are taking part in the opening ceremony. It was graced by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and also representatives from the Olympic Council of Asia and the Singapore National Olympic Council was also being present. There were three segments, which were showcased: ‘Asia’s Zest’, ‘Garden in the City’, and ‘Spirit Of Evolution’ and the game’s torch was lighted by three Singaporean young athletes, Tao Li( swimming), Remy Ong (bowling), and Jasmine Sean (shooting). Now in the medal table, China is in the top position with the total of 8 medals, which includes 6 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze. Korea is in the second position with the total of 8 medals, which includes 1gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze.  India is in 7th position with the total of 11 medals, which includes 5 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals. India’s Delhi athlete Arjun Kumar won the first gold medal of the event in discuss throw. Ravi Kumar won the gold for 800 meters while Namita Kabat was the champion in the women’s event. Another athlete Rahul Kumar gained silver in the men’s 1500m, Selwyn Jebaraj Mervin gained silver in the men’s 400m Hurdles, Magavi has also won the silver in the girls 200m Butterfly and Pooja Varhade got the bronze medal in the women’s 1500m.