St. Louis (Mauritius, April 6 (IANS) Karandeep Kochhar, fresh from a brilliant week in Japan, is excited about getting to Mauritius for the IGPL Invitational 2026 – Mauritius hosted by Leander Paes, which is the start of the 3-leg Africa segment of Indian Premier League (IGPL) 2026.

The 27-year-old Kochhar, who is flying in straight from Japan, finished Tied-fifth in Japan for his second Top-5 finish in three starts on the Asian Tour this year.

He is also keen to add to his tally of IGPL wins after his success at the IGPL Invitational Dubai.

Even as he got himself ready for the IGPL Invitational 2026 – Mauritius hosted by Leander Paes, Kochhar said, “I am excited about getting to Mauritius. I played there some years ago (2019) in the Mauritius Open at the Anahita Course, when it was co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the European Tour, and the Sunshine Tour. And now to be getting there for the IGPL at the same golf course is awesome.

The IGPL Invitational 2026 – Mauritius, hosted by Leander Paes, will see India’s top stars, including Kochhar, Gaganjeet Bhullar, an 11-time Asian Tour winner, Pukhraj Gill, the IGPL Order of Merit topper in 2025, and Aman Raj, a multiple winner on IGPL, among others.

Kochhar commented, “I have said earlier also that to put together a Tour like the IGPL, which started not even a year ago, actually six months, and to have associations like the one with the International Series and bring events to Mauritius shows how strong the leadership is. It is awesome and kudos to the leadership and international Series, Liv Golf, and everyone involved.”

About playing in Mauritius, he added, “I played this golf course maybe like six or seven years ago. So, looking forward to going back, and obviously, we’re starting the team format now. Looking forward to that as well.

“I had a great week in Japan, so I’m really happy. I did really well and learned a lot about myself. on what I did well and what I can do better. So yes, I am now looking forward to Mauritius, which is a very long, long way from Japan. Also, different weather conditions pretty much every day, and so I’m obviously a little tired. Nonetheless, looking forward,” he added.

“I want to have a good finish in the next few weeks, build on some momentum, and then go to the International Series Singapore Open with some confidence and try and play well again.” Tennis legend Paes has spearheaded the staging of the event in Mauritius.

With the team format also kicking in, Paes’ team Flyingman Ventures (Kolkata), comprising Varun Parikh, Kartik Sharma, Syed Saqib Ahmed, and Sukhman Singh, will also be seen in action at the event.”

Kochhar’s team, Krishna Auto (Punjab), will comprise Kochhar, Harendra Gupta, Kapil Kumar, and C Muniyappa. Kochhar won the 2025 IGPL Invitational UAE in Dubai, and earlier on, he was the runner-up at the IGPL Invitational Kolkata.

He believes that exposure, plus the new tie-in with Liv-backed International Series, can help prove the depth of Indian talent and give younger players a clearer sense of what the next step looks like.

A firm believer in Indian talent, Kochhar hailed the partnership between the IGPL and the LIV-Golf-backed International Series, which gives India’s leading players a clearer route into world-class fields. “It’s great for our players back home to have a chance to play International Series events and hopefully play LIV Golf Promotions and see what can happen from there.”

In short, as Kochhar said, the IGPL provides a new pathway for Indians to get to global events.

Kochhar arrived in Mauritius in red-hot form, as he won the Egypt Golf Series – Red Sea Open on the Asian Development Tour in late 2025 and went on to finish in the Top 5 on the 2025 ADT Order of Merit to earn a card into the Asian Tour. He then opened 2026 with a fourth-place finish at the Philippine Golf Championship and added a Tied-5th place finish in Japan.

The Africa leg will see events in Mauritius, South Africa, and Congo, besides one event in each of the franchisee’s cities, plus two more international events.

The 10 Franchises, each of whom have four players on their roster are Phoenix (Hyderabad), Atri (Mumbai), Flyingman Ventures (Kolkata), RVR Infra (Delhi), Vimtra Ventures (Chennai), Green Fuels (Vizag), Auro Realty (Goa), GolfKonnekt (Bengaluru), Krishna Auto (Punjab) and Honer Homes Consortium (Gurugram).

The team format will see the two best scores being counted for each round, and the points will accumulate through the season to decide the top finishing teams.

The individual winners, apart from prize money, also play for positions on the IGPL Order of Merit, which can earn them spots in $2 m International Series events across Asia, Africa, and Europe. The season-long International Series Rankings, in turn, provide a direct pathway to the LIV Golf League.

–IANS

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