At an age of 18, Prithvi Malla is already well on his way to carving a niche for himself in the Nepali golfing arena. Having represented Nepal internationally, with Malaysian Junior Open in 2013 and IGU 115th Amateur Golf Championship of India in 2015, Malla, who started his golfing career at nine, has proved his mettle as a golfer—exhibiting maturity belying his tender age. The Post’s Marissa Taylor caught up with the golfer for a quick chat. Excerpts:

Golfing is not an easy sport to pursue in Nepal. It is not as ubiquitous as football, cricket, basketball and other sports and golfing equipment can be hard to come by. What sparked your interest in golf?

I started off very young. The first time I went to a golf course, to watch my uncle play, I was six years old. It was more a weekend excursion to the green and serene golf course than going to watch the sport. Just out of curiosity, I picked up his iron and started swinging, and it felt great. I haven’t stopped swinging since.

You must have picked it up fairly quickly. In a short few years you were already playing in tournaments.

Yes, I became enamoured with golf right away. After that first visit to the golfing range, I began going fairly regularly—learning initially from my uncle. Eventually, I started taking lessons with professional golfers Deepak Acharya and Ghanashyam Thapa. One thing led to another and I entered my first tournament when I was nine years old. I competed in the under-10 category at the Royal Nepal Golf Club, which I won. That was, perhaps, the pivotal moment in my still-developing golfing career. It spurred me on to go on and achieve what I have in the years since.  

Golfing, then, is evolving into something more than just a competitive hobby.

Right now, I’m in my final year of high school. Once I graduate, I want to attend a golf university that allows me to pursue my golfing career along with my studies. Golfing, for me, is not just a hobby; I definitely plan on turning this passion into a career. Eventually, I want to go on and play at higher levels and represent Nepal in more international tournaments.

Pursuing a career in any sport in Nepal can prove a challenge—golfing, probably, more so than others. Do you see a scope for golfers in the country?

Honestly, the golfing scene isn’t exactly hopping in the country and I don’t see much scope for golfers here. What’s more, most people don’t even regard golf as a sport in our country. It is seen as an expensive hobby, and not taken seriously at all. But I remain resolute, hopefully I can carve a niche for myself.

For now, is it difficult juggling your studies and golfing at the same time?

I get asked that a lot but it really isn’t that difficult, actually. Until now, I have been able to manage time decently. I try and go out into the range as often as possible and it doesn’t really hamper my studies. I hope I can continue the same pattern. I don’t want to jinx it though!

Is trying to perfect your craft time consuming? How much do you practice in a day/ week?

Perfecting any craft takes time and patience. Ideally, I should be practising every day, even if it is for just an hour or so. But as I have to attend school, I don’t really have much time left to practice. I do manage to go two-three times a week though; I mostly practice during the weekends.

Having started early, you’ve had the opportunity to compete in a host of golfing tournaments. Can you tell us about some of the tournaments that you have won?

In 2011, when I was 13, I won the Himalayan Youth Golfers Association (HYGA) Tournament. For that competition, HYGA brought together 63 participants and conducted the tournament after providing us three months of training. It was a very important tournament for me early-on in my formative year.

In 2012, I won the Hyundai Open and was able to claim the same title in 2015.

I, also, won three consecutive Surya Nepal Monthly Medals in the past year, and also the 2015 Surya Nepal Central Open. It was my first amateur win, and a great personal milestone.  

You have also represented Nepal in international tournaments. Are there any plans in the works to represent the countryagain?

I represented Nepal in the Malaysian Junior Open back in 2013, that was my first international exposure. More recently, I went to India for the IGU 115th Amateur Golf Championship of India which was held on December 15-20 last year.Sometimes it can feel like the opportunities to represent Nepal come few and far in between, but I will definitely take up any opportunity should I get a chance. I am actively working to that end.

As much time and effort juggling golf and your studies must probably take. Do you have other interests besides golfing that you pursue?

I am a very outdoor person; and spend most of my time outside. I dabble in almost all sports, of which basketball and football are my favourites.Other than golfing, of course.

What are your future plans?

For now, my plan for the future is to balance golfing side by side with my education. Like I said earlier,I also want to keep improving as a golfer. Hopefully, I can reach levels that will make everyone proud and reinvigorate the golfing scene here in Nepal.