‘I want to play like Tiger Woods’

: She's being hailed as the new Asian sensation in the global golfing community. And why not? Kiran Matharu is the first female British Asian Golf Champion. She started representing Yorkshire within six months of picking up the sport.

Matharu has won many tournaments in her short career of six years and is giving her closest competitor Michelle Wie a run for money. She is the youngest player to qualify for the Ladies European Tour.

"I started playing since I was 11," says the UK-based NRI. "I used to visit golf courses with my father. One day his friend asked me to start playing golf, and I have been playing since then."

Matharu is impressed by Tiger Woods and wants to "play like him some day". Till then it’s only golf and nothing else. "I just want to play golf and that's it," she says.

And she has another golfing great as her friend, instructor Nick Faldo. "I can call him up anytime and clear my doubts," she says. "This helps me to improve my game every time I talk to him. Nick is a great friend."

She was recently in India to participate in the DLF Golf tournament. Says Matharu, "It was really exciting to play in India and to compete with other Asian players. The weather here is quite different from that of other countries, though," she adds.

Tapping her at the tender age of 17, Puma India singed her as a brand ambassador for their new range of golf accessories.

Says Rajiv Mehta, MD, Puma India, " Matharu is the only Asian woman who has been able to attain such a spectacular height in a game like golf and that too at a tender age."

Adds Mehta, "She perfectly suits Puma. She will be endorsing our brands not only in India but in other countries as well." Now Matharu is in the company of former team India captain, Sourav Ganguly, who has been roped in by Puma as an international brand ambassador.