Weeks after a Special Olympics silver, Ranveer Saini strikes gold at Macau Gold Masters 2019

Ranveer Singh Saini showed the world what makes him such a unique champion in the Macau Golf Masters Invitational Tournament, 2019 held in Macau. He won a gold medal at the event, making this his fifth gold in six appearances at the Gold Masters.

The Macau Golf Masters event attracts top players and teams with some of the world’s best golfers with intellectual disabilities taking part. This year, there were over 100 golfers from countries like Australia, the United States, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Zimbabwe, Korea, United Kingdom, Hongkong, Brunei, Thailand, Sweden and India, with an average age group of 30 years. “It was a tough fight as Australia and Korea had sent some of their best players, says Anitya Chand, Ranveer’s coach.

The Macau win comes close on the heels of Ranveer winning a silver medal at the silver medal at the Special Olympics, World Games, Abu Dhabi, 2019 and was a hard fought win given his health. “He was rather unwell, says mother Bakhtawar Saini. “He was down with a fever and an upset stomach and his performance was dampened with a bad tummy.

Ranveer started playing golf under Anitya Chand at the age of nine, soon after he was diagnosed with autism. He was quick to make his presence felt in the competitive sport, winning gold at the Special Olympics, World Games, Los Angeles, 2015. He was also the Limca Record holder for four straight years.

Although he has cemented his position at the top with a gold in Macau, Chand rates his win at the Abu Dhabi World Games as his best performance of the season so far.

His performance at the Abu Dhabi World Games last month where he led the event for 90% of the time and then narrowly missed the gold would probably be the best as he was competing against a bigger field and some very good players. – Anitya Chand, Golf Coach

Ranveer, whose single minded dedication and focus to the game is well known has his sights firmly set on the next goal, Special Olympics 2020. “He has to get his handicap down to 6 as soon as possible, says Chand.

Just 18 years old, the future looks bright for this promising young man who is on his way to becoming the number one in the “lowest handicapped special needs golfer” category in the world.

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