The euphoria of the Indian team winning the 2011 Cricket World Cup will most likely continue to be talked about for many years to come and rewards given to the winning team members will roll in from many quarters for the next few months amounting to many millions of dollars.  For us sportspersons in non cricket sports, it makes you wonder how nice it would be if we could play a world cup with only ten proper teams competing !! I am sure if we had to compete against only ten other countries, by now India would have won a few world cups in golf and other sports already.
I would love to win a world cup in golf for my country too but we need to work a lot harder and produce many more good players to hope to take on the 200 countries that submit teams for the World Cup of Golf , including the mighty European teams as well as the powers of South & Latin American nations as well as the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia and all the Asian nations as well.
At the amateur and club level in golf though the odds are not as bad because of the handicap system which equates golfers of different abilities. And so hopes run high amongst corporate golfers who I spoke to at the Mercedes Trophy, India’s largest invitational amateur event with 9 Invitational rounds and  5 Regional rounds which saw nearly 2000 golfers participate,  and now an Indian national final staged in Mauritius before the three winners go in for their “world cup” of the Mercedes Trophy against 50 other teams in Germany this October.
After winning rounds in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkota and Chandigarh, 48 finalists will participate in the Mercedes Trophy National Final later in April to try and get one of three spots at the World Final in three handicap categories so that players of various abilities have a chance. I wish them all best of luck.