Rakshit during Round 1 of the Stroke Play qualifier at Royal St George’s
18-year-old Rakshit Dahiya of Delhi made history at The 130th Amateur Championship last week by becoming the first Indian to qualify for the Match Play stage in one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur golf tournaments which hands the winner invitations to The Masters, U.S. Open, and The (British) Open Championship. Held from June 16–21 at the celebrated links of Royal St. George’s and Royal Cinque Ports in England, over 280 of the world’s top amateurs participated in the qualifying rounds, and only the top 64 advanced to Match Play.
Dahiya, playing as a private entry, just like Mannat Brar in the Ladies Amateur a couple of weeks ago, made the cut with rounds of 67-72.
In the Round of 64, Dahiya was drawn against Sweden’s Simon Hovdal, with the Swede pulling away over the back nine to register a 4&3 win—closing out the match with three holes to spare. While Dahiya’s run ended prematurely, his performance broke new ground for Indian representation at The Amateur Championship.
This adds to a recent surge of impressive international showings by Indian amateurs—echoing Mannat Brar’s historic Round of 16 finish at the Women’s Amateur Championship just days earlier, and reinforcing the need for structured exposure and support for India’s promising young golfers.