India’s golf sensation Shubhankar Sharma, 21, has to choose between the sport and studies in May as his exam dates overlaps with some of the prestigious international tournaments, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.
Shubhankar, a BA Political Science (Honours) student at Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (SOL), has his Part-III exams scheduled in the second half of May, when he’s looking to participate in several PGA tournaments to improve his rank and qualify for the US Open in June.
DU’s rules require its undergraduate students to finish the programme within a maximum of five years. And, Shubhankar, according to the report, has already skipped the exams last year. He’s taken three years to clear Part I and II of his course.
It’s his fourth year, so Shubhankar can appear for the exams next year as well. But, according to his father Col (Retd) Mohan Sharma, since the exams are always in May-June, the dates will clash next year too.
Shubhankar clinched two European Tour titles and came close to winning the World Golf Championships in Mexico in March. But even as his father is proud of his achievements, education, for him, is equally important.
“Education, at the end of the day, enables you to live a dignified life. It makes you a good individual. It builds character, tells you what you are,” he was quoted in the report.
He added that talented sportspeople like Shubhankar should be given a chance to complete formal education. “They should be allowed to take exams whenever it is convenient for them.”