The winner of Miss Indonesia 2012, Ines Putri Tjiptadi, is to replace crown and gown with golf clubs and caddie to compete in the Ladies Indonesia Open, which teed off in Jakarta yesterday.
The 23-year-old beauty queen is also a leading amateur golfer, winning the ladies Singapore amateur championship in 2010 and securing gold and silver medals in 2004 in Indonesia’s national championships.
She has been paired in the opening round with Australian star Stacey Keating, fresh from back-to-back Ladies European Tour wins, and Nontaya Srisawang from Thailand, who claimed the Thailand Ladies Open in February.
Photo: EPA
“I am very nervous as I have hardly played for the last five months. I just hope I don’t finish last,” Tjiptadi said, according to a statement from the event organizers.
“I have had a lot to do since winning Miss Indonesia in April, including competing in Miss World. I am just aiming to have fun this week and learn from some of the best players,” she added.
Tjiptadi is the first Balinese ever to win Miss Indonesia and she also made it into the top 13 at August’s Miss World in the Inner Mongolian city of Ordos in China.
Her golf career is on hold this year, but she plans to focus on it next season.
“There is so much I want to do with golf. I really want to help promote the sport in our country and show that it is not a game only played by wealthy people,” Tjiptadi said.
“I also want to get involved in television and host a golf show. However, playing is what I love and I would still like to turn professional in a couple of years,” she added.
The Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open is the most lucrative women’s national open championship in Southeast Asia, with the winner earning US$30,000.
Indian police are investigating an alleged betting scandal in which a sham cricket tournament was held in an Indian village and passed off as a Twenty20 contest played in Sri Lanka. Players portrayed as Sri Lankan cricketers played two matches on Monday last week that were broadcast with live commentary on YouTube, media reports said, along with ball-by-ball coverage on top Indian sports Web sites. The organizers hung Sri Lankan advertisements at the ground for added authenticity and put up tents to block the view from outside the remote rural venue, set in farmland next to a busy highway. Police said that they
Taipower on Sunday charged to their third straight win and took over first place in the Taiwan Football Premier League as previous leaders Taichung Futuro suffered their first defeat of the season, while Hang Yuan rallied from two goals down to complete a thrilling 3-2 victory over National Taiwan University of Sport (NTUS). Heading into the 10th round of matches, unbeaten Taichung Futuro led the league with 21 points, but they fell to their first defeat of the season, a 1-0 loss to Tatung at the National Stadium in Kaohsiung. In a match in which both defenses were on top and there
HOTSHOT: Luis Suarez scored his 194th goal for Barca, tying him with Ladislao Kubala as the club’s third-highest scorer, behind Cesar Rodriguez and Lionel Messi With another decisive penalty from Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid on Sunday extended their perfect run after the COVID-19 suspension and moved closer to their first Spanish title in three years. Ramos scored his fifth goal since the season resumed as Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 1-0 to maintain a four-point lead over Barcelona, who beat fifth-placed Villarreal 4-1. Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann were among the scorers for Barcelona after assists from Lionel Messi. Ramos converted a 73rd-minute penalty to give Madrid their seventh straight victory and they remain the only team with a perfect record since La Liga resumed. “These three points are very
Thailand international Pitsamai Sornsai, a new arrival for Inter Taoyuan, is to lead her team against Taipei Bravo tomorrow in the 10th round of the Taiwan Mulan Football League. Sornsai, who is nicknamed Pui, has attracted interest from media and fans as the first foreigner signed to play in Taiwan’s women’s league. Inter are among six teams battling for the title this year. The addition of Sornsai is a boost for the international profile of women’s soccer in Taiwan and elevates the competition. The 31-year-old brings a wealth of experience, including from the Asian Football Confederation’s Women’s Championship, the Southeast Asian Games and
RSS