Shubhankar Sharma has returned to old clubs and familiar swing feels. Anirban Lahiri has taken seven weeks away from competition to rebuild his body and refresh his mind.
The two leading Indians have chosen contrasting routes in search of the same result: arriving at the DP World India Championship ready to challenge one of the strongest fields assembled in India.
The US$4 million championship, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and DP World PGTI, will be played at Delhi Golf Club from October 15 to 18. The field includes seven Major champions and three of the four reigning Major winners, led by Rory McIlroy, Ryan Fox and Aaron Rai. Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Luke Donald are also among the leading names.
Sharma’s reset has already produced a result. The two-time DP World Tour winner claimed the Kapil Dev Invitational by six strokes last week, completing his second victory in as many DP World PGTI appearances this season.
The result was important, but Sharma drew greater encouragement from identifying the issues behind a frustrating run of missed cuts.
“My main goal last week was to gain some momentum,” Sharma said. “I wasn’t thinking about winning. I was trying to figure out what the problem was with my game. It was just the fundamentals and basics, and we figured those out. That was my biggest victory.”
Sharma had continued working hard between tournaments without seeing any reward—a cycle he described as practising from Monday to Wednesday before “ending up doing laundry on Saturday”.
The solution was to simplify. He returned to older clubs, made minor adjustments and began discarding technical changes that had taken him away from his natural instincts.
“I went back to old clubs and old feels,” he said. “It was also about unlearning some of the bad habits I had picked up while changing clubs.”
That process helped Sharma control his ball-striking at Jaypee Greens, where he led by four shots after 36 holes and eventually won by six.
He now returns to a course where he played junior golf and watched Ernie Els conduct a clinic in 2008. Sharma was about 12 at the time and could scarcely have imagined competing there in a field containing some of the world’s best players.
“I never thought we could have an event of this stature in India,” he said. “For kids to see the best players coming here is very important. This is where dreams are formed.”
Lahiri refreshed after seven-week break
While Sharma searched for answers in competition, Lahiri stepped away from it.
The 38-year-old has not played a tournament for nearly seven weeks after completing what he described as one of his weakest seasons in recent years. He spent the first half of that break focusing on fitness and recovery before returning to intensive practice in Dubai.
“I wasn’t very happy with how I played during the season,” Lahiri said. “But I’m excited now. I’m fresh and mentally in a really good space.”
The break also gave Lahiri valuable time with his family following years of almost continuous travel. The challenge now is to translate that renewed energy into tournament sharpness.
Delhi Golf Club offers a familiar setting for his return. Lahiri first competed there in 1999 on the Peacock Course and shared the opening two rounds with Gaganjeet Bhullar. More than two decades later, both will return as established international winners.
“There is a sense of familiarity and a feeling of being at home,” Lahiri said.
Familiarity, however, will not remove the challenge. Lahiri believes the redesigned and firm greens will place a premium on approach play. Players may also sacrifice distance for position by choosing irons from several tees.
“This week is all about iron play,” he said. “If you can keep the ball in the fairways, you will give yourself plenty of opportunities to make birdies.”
Sharma and Lahiri arrive with different forms of preparation but a shared understanding of what awaits. Sharma has rediscovered confidence through competition; Lahiri has sought renewal away from it.
Both will now discover whether their respective resets can translate into contention against a world-class field on home soil.
