Golfer Jyoti Randhawa was arrested on Wednesday, 26 December, by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department for poaching in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
The eight-time Asian Tour winner was always inclined towards adventure sports and shooting. Apart from golf, Randhawa also enjoyed riding horses, biking, skydiving and diving. In fact, he is an excellent marksman.
The 46-year-old started taking interest in shooting in 2010 and has even competed in skeet as well as Big Bore events at the national level.
Randhawa, the son of a retired Army general, turned professional in the year 1994. With eight wins on the Asian Tour between 1998 and 2009, he holds the record for the highest win as an Indian, along with Arjun Atwal and Gaganjeet Bhullar. He also has one title win in Japan. In total, the golfer has 16 professional wins to his name.
Randhawa earned his first win on the Asian Tour in 1998 when he won the Hero Honda Masters. The next year he successfully defended his title.
Out of his three Indian Open wins, the golfer won the first one way back in 2000. In the same year, he went onto win the Singapore Open.
In August 2002, Randhawa made a stellar comeback after breaking his collarbone in a motorcycle accident earlier in the year. He went onto become the first Indian to win the Order of Merit title in Asia following his comeback. At the end of the season he was voted Players’ Player of the Year by his contemporaries.
In 2003, Randhawa won his solitary title in Japan at the Suntory Open.
He represented India at the World Cup four times (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009). In 2005, he partnered Arjun Atwal to ninth place in the World Cup in Portugal, where they were the first round co-leaders.
In 2005, Randhawa was awarded the Arjuna Award, India’s most prestigious sporting award. He joined the European Tour in the same year.
After two winless years, he won his second Hero Honda Indian Open in 2006, where he defeated India’s SSP Chawrasia. The following year he created history at the Hero Honda Indian Open when he successfully defended his title for his third win at the event, equalling the record of Australia’s Peter Thomson.
In 2009, Randhawa won the Singha Thailand Open, which was his last win on the Asian Tour.
Since then his golfing fortunes took a dip. In 2014, he only managed to finish second in the Chiangmai Golf Classic. Next year, he was tied fourth at the Panasonic Open India. At the Resorts World Manila Masters and Panasonic Open India in 2016, Jyoti ended tied fourth and equal second respectively.
Jyoti was married to actor Chitrangada Singh. They have a son named Zorawar. In April 2014, the couple got a divorce, with the son's custody being granted to Chitrangada.
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