Indian golfer Ranveer Saini bags Gold in Special Olympics

LOS ANGELES: Golfer Ranveer Singh Saini created history by becoming the first Indian to win a Gold medal at the Special Olympics World Games here.

The 14-year-old autistic golfer achieved the feat in GF Golf-Level 2 Alternate Shot Team Play event yesterday.

Ranveer and his partner Monica Jajoo were nine shots clear of joint second-placed teams from Hong Kong (Tsz Leung Chung-Ka Kit Lam) and Nippon (Takefumi Hiyoshi-Tadatoshi Sakai).

The Gurgaon-based teenager was diagnosed with autism, a neurological disorder characterised by impaired social interaction, at the age of 2. He took to the sport at the age of nine.

Two years ago Saini became the first Indian golfer to win two gold medals at the Asia Pacific World Games.