FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Royal Cup champion to defend  title, despite injury problems

Royal Cup champion to defend  title, despite injury problems

Defending champion Shiv Kapur of India will be looking to put his injury woes behind him when he bids to retain his Royal Cup title at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club starting on Thursday.

Kapur will be one of the leading contenders in the showpiece tournament, along with former Thai No 1 Thonghcai Jaidee, rising stars Panuphol Pittayarat and Pachara Kongwatmai, who is playing at home for the first time since winning the Chiangrai’s Singha Masters in March, India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar and American John Catlin, the first player to win twice on the Asian Tour this season.
Kapur has been sidelined action for the past two weeks due to a bone spur in his left foot and tendinitis in his right wrist.
While he has yet to recover fully, he is hopeful of repeating his success when he returns to Thailand for the US$500,000 event.
“I started feeling a sharp pain in my left foot and found out that I have a bone spur in it, plus tendinitis in my right wrist. I tried playing through the pain but it became too frustrating so I decided to take two weeks off to get treated,” said Kapur.
The 36-year-old will draw inspiration from last December, when he won the Royal Cup to notch his fourth Asian Tour victory.
In doing so, Kapur also became the only player to win three titles in the 2017 season on the region’s premier Tour.
“In our line of work, it is so hard to take long breaks,” he added. “I had physiotherapy and laser therapy but I knew the best way to get treated was to take a break. Now I am at 70 per cent, I am trying not to play more than two weeks in a row and hoping I will peak at the right time.
“I expected myself to perform at the same level following the win but I had a bit of a letdown this year with the injuries,” added Kapur, who finished last year’s event with a four-under-par 67 to win by one shot from Prom Meesawat of Thailand.
Held in honour of King Rama X, the 2018 Royal Cup will take place in conjunction with the 66th birthday celebration of His Majesty, which falls on Saturday, July 28.
 

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