Royal Troon: Shubhankar Sharma has the glint of a metal in his eyes after yet another solid performance in the Open Championship.

The Indian star, who turned 28 on Sunday, heads to Paris for the Olympics, where he will represent his country in the golf event for the first time in his career.

The tournament will be played at Le Golf National in the outskirts of the French capital. Men’s event, where Gaganjeet Bhullar is the other qualifier for India, is scheduled to start from Thursday, August 1, while the women’s event – featuring Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar – starts on Wednesday, August 7.

The Indian players go in as underdogs, with Sharma the highest ranked in the world No. 173, and Bhullar at 295.

But Sharma, in a buoyant mood after his tied 19th place finish in the final major championship of the season, said a medal was possible.

“I mean, you just have to look at the results in 2020 Tokyo to know that anything is possible if you are playing good golf. In the presence of so many superstars, Rory Sabbatini and CT Pan won the silver and bronze. I honestly think the Olympics can create a very different kind of motivation,” said Sharma after battling his way through rain and blustery wind at Royal Troon.

“I know we golfers are lucky in that we have four majors to play in every year, but personally, the Olympics mean a lot to me. I am very aware of what kind of a spotlight a good performance in France by any one of us would put on Indian golf.”

One of the reasons Sharma is feeling confident is how well he played on a difficult course and in challenging conditions at Royal Troon.

“This absolutely gets me into an Olympics mindset. You could not take any shot for granted at The Open last week. It was a grind from the first tee shot to the last putt, and that’s what I would expect at the Olympics as well,” said Sharma.

“I have played the Le Golf National several times and it is a man’s course. It can easily separate the boys from men. You need to be a superior ball-striker to do well there, as you needed to do at Royal Troon.

“I also feel good about my chances because I put in a lot of work and I have started seeing the reward for those hours. There are always some tendencies that a player gets into, and it’s always important to get pull yourself out of those and get back to better hitting days. And I did that before the Italian Open, where I finished in top-5. I then made 15 birdies over the weekend in the Scottish Open, which is another good thing.

“And at The Open, you have to strike it really good, your ball control has to be brilliant. You need to be very tenacious, which I was throughout the week. The competitive juices are flowing, and I’m looking forward to Le Golf National.”

Sharma is staying back in the vicinity of Royal Troon for the next three days, but is not planning to hit any golf balls. At the moment, he is excited to become a part of the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony.

“The plan is to just chill for three days,” said the Padma Shri award winner. “I need the rest. I’ve been playing, playing, playing, and then last week was the highest level we play at a major championship. It takes a lot out of you physically, mentally and emotionally, especially when it’s so tough. So, I do think I’m quite primed for the Olympics.

Read Also: coach gautam gambhir’s focus on building trust, winning mentality