Prince Bainsla fires 66 to lead US Kids Indian Championship at Classic

Prince Bainsla, who turns 16 later this month, shot a superb six-under 66 to lead the Boys 15–18 division after day one of the three-day 2025 US Kids Golf Indian Championship at Classic Golf and Country Club. The US Kids India-supported youngster, last year’s Boys 13–14 champion, holds a five-shot cushion over Arshvant Srivastava, who opened with 71.

Bainsla exploded out of the blocks with four straight birdies, then added two more on the seventh and ninth to turn in a blistering six-under 30. He picked up a seventh birdie on the 12th and parred the next five holes before his only blemish of the day, a closing bogey at the par-5 18th.

Arshvant endured a frustrating start with five pars, then traded a bogey and birdie on six and seven to turn in level par. A bogey on 11 briefly took him over par, but late birdies on 16 and 18 pulled him back into red numbers with a 71. Shashank Sachin Gadre kept himself in the mix with an even-par round in the same age group.

Among the girls, Ridhima Singh was the standout in the 13–14 category with a sparkling 68. She raced to five under through seven holes with six birdies against one bogey, turned in four under, then offset bogeys at 10 and 12 with birdies at 14 and 18 to finish four under, six ahead of Shambhavi Chaturvedi and Shiksha Jain, who shot 74s.

In the younger divisions, diminutive Boys 8 star Nihal Cheema posted an even-par 36 for nine holes to lead rival Zowra Sikand by five. Naasyha S Sinha carded 37 to lead Girls 8 despite finishing bogey–bogey, with Taashi Jain second on 42. In Girls 9–10, Gairat Kaur Kahlon and Aadya Kaushal share the lead after matching 75s.

International flavour came from Malaysian youngster Raja Muhammad Syakir, who opened with 73 to lead the Boys 12 section by two over Indians Adit Veeramachaneni and Hridaan Saraogi. In Boys 11, Drona Singh Dhull’s 73 gave him a three-shot edge over South Africa’s Aayan Chhita, while in Boys 13–14, promising Arihaan Beri’s 72 earned him a six-shot cushion over Devvrat Singh (78).

Day-one leaders also included Keeon Agarwal (42) in Boys 7, Nihal Cheema (36) in Boys 8, Samar Singh (76) in Boys 9, Vedaansh Jain (79) in Boys 10, and Preitisha Kaur Gill (76) in Girls 15–18, one ahead of Samaira Tomar (77). With Priority Points towards the 2026 US Kids European and World Championships and World Amateur Golf Ranking points on offer, and two rounds still to play, the fifth edition of the US Kids Golf Indian Championship is set up for a compelling finish.