Page 32 - The Indian EYE 041924

NORTH AMERICAN Newsline APRIL 19, 2024 | The Indian Eye 32

In the first round of the main draw, he will meet world number 35 Mat-
teo Arnaldi of Italy in the clay court tournament.
“Absolutely thrilled to have made it to the main draw in Monte Carlo! Re-
ally appreciate the support and well wishes from India and around the globe.
Can’t wait for my next match!,” Nagal wrote on X.

six clear before a stunning back-nine rally by McCarthy saw the two players
tied at 20-under after 72 holes.
Bhatia, who turned pro in 2019, won at the Barracuda Championship
last summer and it was an Additional Event during The Open Championship.
So he did not get a Masters call.
Ten years ago, Bhatia played in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals
Nagal has been in the spotlight since making it to the main draw at the home of the Masters. The Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals for 2024
were held this past weekend. Bhatia was born in Northridge, Calif., but now
of the Australian Open in January. He then emerged a winner in resides in Wake Forest, N.C.
the Chennai Open before playing two more Challenger competi-
tions, along with an ATP 500 competition (Dubai Championship) To read more about Indian diaspora and Global Indians, log on to and follow

and two ATP 1000 Masters (Indian Wells and Miami). our website www.TheIndianEYE.com

He won the 2015 Wimbledon boys’ doubles title with Vietnamese Lý
Hoàng Nam, becoming the sixth Indian player to win a junior Grand Slam
title. Nagal started playing tennis at the age of eight at a local sports club in
Jhajjhar, Haryana. When he was 10 years old, he was selected to join Mahesh
Bhupathi’s training academy, as part of the first batch of Mahesh Bhupathi’s
Apollo Tyres Mission 2018 program. As part of the program, between 2008
and 2010, Nagal was based in Bengaluru. Further, Nagal moved to Toronto
for training with Coach Bobby Mahal.

AKSHAY BHATIA

Golfer scores a dramatic win at

the finals of Texas Open

y the time Akshay was 9 years old, he asked his father, what he needed
to do to become the best golfer in the world! Indian American golfer
BAkshay Bhatia prevailed in a playoff to script a dramatic win at the Tex-
as Open. He earned a spot at next week’s Augusta Masters, which will be his
first appearance in a Major.

It was virtually the last spot left at the Augusta Masters and Bha-
tia claimed it after staving off a serious challenge from Denny

McCarthy, who birdied eight of the last nine holes at the TPC San
Antonio here.

The win gets Bhatia into the Masters, a wish and promise he had made
to his mother years ago. “It’s hard to win out there as it showed today. My
mom’s birthday was April 1 and her wish was to go to the Masters.”
“Man, what a crazy, crazy day. This is awesome,” Bhatia said.
The 22-year-old Bhatia (67), who started the day four shots ahead, went

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