Rayhan Thomas, competing in only his second professional golf event, has made a significant mark on his career by securing a top-10 finish at the USD 2 million International Series Morocco golf tournament. The Indian golfer, based in Dubai but having played collegiate golf in the United States, displayed impressive consistency throughout the tournament, carding scores of 69, 73, 69, and 72 for a total of 9-under for the week. This remarkable performance earned him a tie for eighth place and the title of best Indian golfer in the field. Out of the 16 Indian golfers who initially competed, only five managed to make the cut.
The next best Indian performer on the final leaderboard was Veer Ahlawat, who finished T-29 with a final round score of 73. Olympic-bound Gaganjeet Bhullar (79) finished T-33, alongside Varun Chopra (74) and Rashid Khan (74) who were both T-37. Thomas, a six-time participant in the prestigious Asia Pacific Amateurs, with a best finish of second place, made his professional debut last month at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open, where he successfully made the cut and finished T-68.
Thomas, who received an invitation to participate in the Morocco event, is now looking forward to another opportunity at the International Series in England, scheduled for August at Foxhills, as well as potential further appearances on the Asian Tour.
Meanwhile, in the world of squash, India’s Veer Chotrani narrowly lost a thrilling five-game final in the Kanso Open squash tournament, a USD 9000 PSA Challenger Tour event, to Pakistan’s Muhammad Ashab Irfan in Houston on Sunday. The fourth-seeded Chotrani, ranked 106th in the world, displayed resilience by leveling the match twice, but ultimately succumbed to the third-seeded Irfan, who secured the decisive fifth game with a score of 11-8. The final match lasted an intense 80 minutes.
Chotrani, a 22-year-old competitor, had reached his fifth Tour final earlier in the day after securing a comfortable 11-3, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7 victory over Mexican second seed Alfredo Avila Vergara.
