What's common between actor Aamir Khan and shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore; the Golf Foundation, an initiative that hopes to become the nursery of golf in India
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The two celebrities are patrons of the foundation and were present at its 2nd annual fundraiser. So what were their personal experiences with golf?
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Aamir Khan laughed at his 1st time on the course saying "I swung really hard as I wanted to impress Karishma Kapoor who was sitting right next to me. I missed the ball clean and when I tried the 2nd time, I chipped the very top of the ball, it bounced 3 times and dropped 2 feet away from me, at which point I gave up on golf!"
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Although for Olympic Silver Medallist shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore, every sport including golf, seems to come naturally, "A lot of people don't know that I started shooting because of golf, I started playing golf and started playing very well. And then I set myself a target, I told myself that by the end of the year, I will play scratch and will get into the Army team. But I needed more time at my golf course in Mao, the Army told me that the only way I can stay longer at the Army base is to join the Army shooting team and the rest is history!"
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The Golf foundation started in 2000, a forum that provides financial help and training to young golf champions. It's produced the likes of caddy-turned Asian champions like Ashok Kumar and Rashid Khan. And now all eyes are on 9-year old golfer Shubham Jaglan from Israna village who was recently featured on the show Satyamev Jayate.
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The Golf Foundation has become a pan-India movement and across all sections of society. Coach Amandeep Johl told NDTV, "We've gone to Chandigarh, to Jaipur and Bangalore. Now we've gone from caddy background kids to even service class background kids".
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The fundraiser this year has raised close to 2.5 crore rupees, money that will be spent in identifying and nurturing young golf talent; the gen-next of Indian golf.