Onika Maheshwari/ New Delhi
The Lucknow-born Faryal Shadab who started playing golf at an age when many others prefer to retire from an active life, draws a life lesson from the sport. “Golf inspires us to forget our past and move ahead, if you miss a hole then you move ahead and try to achieve another goal. I have learned this simple way of living life from golf.”
This 55-year-old Noida resident, who was encouraged by her doctor husband to pick the sport just three years ago, says, “Golf is the only sport that one can play even when one is old; it doesn’t require a high level of fitness; one doesn’t need partners to play it.”
No wonder this sophisticated-looking woman and mother of three adults, can’t do without it today.
Speaking with Awaz-the Voice, Faryal Shadab said during the Covid-19 pandemic she was managing the diagnostic laboratory of her radiologist husband Dr. Shadab Mehmood in Okhla, Delhi. Dr Shadab who is an avid golf player requested her to join him in golf.
Faryal Shadab, daughter of a professor of Islamic studies was raised in Aligarh, UP where she attended the AMU Girls School. She says she was interested in sports and fitness from school where she played Kho-kho, badminton, etc. After her marriage, she left for Saudi Arabia with her husband and lived there for 14 years till 1998.
The couple has three children all of them adults and living in various locations. before.
She said during her stay in Saudi Arabia she played badminton and chess. “I won three Chess championships that the hospital organized every year. Finally, they closed down the championship saying how an Indian woman could win all the time,” she says.
Her tryst with Golf started in a major way in 2020, a year after she was initiated by her husband at the Noida Golf Course. She had earlier thought of it as an old man’s sport.
Today even avid golfers are surprised to see Faryal Shadab's swing and pickup.
Faryal Shadab with Cricketer Ajay Jadeja
Faryal’s involvement in golf is so much that she even spends her holidays on the golf course. She says whenever she gets time, she picks up her kit and goes out to play golf. “Golf is the only game that you can play alone at any age,” she says.
She says she and her husband plan their holidays keeping in mind the availability of a golf course. “The priority is the golf,” she said.
She recently played in Dubai as part of the 45-member Aligarh Gold group that her husband has cobbled. The group organizes tournaments in different cities.
Faryal Shadab with her husband Dr Shadab Mehmoohd
She enjoyed being looked after and appreciated for her game at Dubai but hopes more women will join the group soon.
Faryal has played golf in foreign locales like Dubai, Singapore, the USA, Thailand, etc. However, she says playing in Srinagar’s Royal Springs Golf Course was her wonderful experience due to the beautiful weather and ambiance. Her husband accompanied her.
Faryal Shadab says that golf is the best sport to eliminate one’s physical and mental fatigue; it relaxes one’s mind and body and generates inner peace.
“While playing you are filled with energy and takes away the negativity because if you play golf in a green place, it also protects your eyes. A distinct coolness is felt.
During tournaments, Faryal says meets new people and gets interested in knowing about them and their culture and finally striking friendships with them.
Faryal Shadab feels very relaxed after playing golf and it makes her have a good sleep. However, she gives credit for her versatility to her husband, who, she says, encourages her to have “self-time.”
Faryal Shadab is a member of the Noida Golf Course.
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Faryal Shadab said golf is an expensive game – one has to pay a caddy fee. “When you go to play, the person who carries your bag takes this fee and if you play in a golf course of which you are not a member, you have to pay the playing fee. All wherewithals for this sport are expensive. My husband bought me my kit which I love very much today.”
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