by Thursday 17, October 1996
Kapil Dev will tee off in Pro-Am golf tourney
By SA'ADI THAWFEEQ
The first Pro-Am golf tournament named the `Deutsche Bank Clas-
sic' will feature former cricketing `great' Kapil Dev as one of
its celebrities.
Kapil, the former Indian captain and all-rounder is the present
world record holder for the largest number of Test wickets (434).
Since retiring from the game three years ago, he has become a
keen golfer with a handicap of eight.
Kapil is expected to add sparkle to the tournament which will
also feature several of Sri Lanka's leading golfers including
professionals Nandasena Perera and Faisal Qureshi of Pakistan and
leading amateurs Tissa Chandradasa and Anura Rohana.
A total of 150 local amateur golfers are expected to participate
in this event which will be held at the Royal Colombo Golf Course
(RCGC) on October 26.
The tournament is open to all members of the RCGC with valid han-
dicaps.
Another top class cricketer, Wasim Akram, the Pakistan captain
was also billed to take part. However, he has been forced to
forego the tournament because of his father's ill-health and,
that he is undergoing training in preparation for next month's
three-nation Champions trophy cricket tournament in Sharjah.
"Akram is a very keen golfer. He showed his prowess on the green
when Pakistan last came to Sri Lanka two years ago,'' said tour-
nament convenor Rosanna Flamer-Caldera at a press conference held
at the RCGC on Tuesday.
She said that Kapil had confirmed his participation in the tour-
nament and that he would be arriving in Sri Lanka on October 24.
"The Deutsche Bank Classic is another addition to the bank's
sport sponsorship activities. Besides the long established sup-
port of contemporary arts and charity, sporting events are anoth-
er focus of the bank's international sponsorship policy,'' said
Deutsche Bank Colombo branch general manager Stefan Mahrdt.
"There is no limit to what we can sponsor. If we think the sport
is valuable for society we would not hesitate to sponsor it,''
said Mahrdt.
"Although we have sponsored sports events elsewhere, this is the
first time we have undertaken to sponsor a sports event in Sri
Lanka,'' he said.
The bank is offering attractive prizes for all categories (men,
women and juniors). There will be a team prize as well as prizes
for the nearest to the pin and hole-in-one.
Captain of the club, Major-General C. Thurairaja thanked the
sponsors for supporting the tournament and also resident profes-
sional Faisal Qureshi, who will be organising the tournament.
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