Sharmila Nicollet looks up to Saina for inspiration

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Sharmila Nicollet, India's youngest woman golfer to qualify for the Ladies European Tour, looks up to Saina Nehwal for "inspiration" and wants to be as successful on the Ladies PGA tour as the ace shuttler has been on the badminton court.
"To change the perception of women's golf in India, we need an international win. We need a win on the European or LPGA Tour. We need to emulate someone like Saina Nehwal, who has made such a global impact. I hope to be that person to do that some day for my sport," Nicollet said here today.
"Winning a tournament in Europe will change the perception towards our sport. Saina is like an inspiration. She is young and close to my age. She really inspires me, I want to follow in her footsteps and give my sport a facelift and change the way women's golf is looked upon in India," she added.

Nicollet, who will turn 22 next Tuesday, said she is working on her game after having qualified for the second time for the LET this year.
"I have changed my swing, I changed my ball trajectory. I need to improve my approach shots and putting as that's one area where I lack and have been working on it. I have become more creative with my shots, just trying to work it out all around the greens."
The Bangalore girl said the ranking will take care of itself if she continues to perform well on the Tour.

"Keeping my card will be the first priority. I'll look to finish among top 80 and then top 30 and 20. When I do get in that zone and become consistent and regulating under-par rounds, I think winning a tournament on LET will be ideal this year and that's my goal," she said.

The 21-year-old said she has become tired playing too many tournaments and will be selective from now on.
"The problem (on LET) last year was that I was under so much pressure to secure my card, that I played almost every single tournament and couldn't maximise my potential. There was hardly any time for practice."
"This year, I'll become more choosy. I will choose more important tournaments, plan my schedule accordingly so that I can practice like few weeks before the tournament," she said.