Calcutta: With the 24-year-long wait being now over, a bigger challenge awaits Joseph Chakola and Anirban Lahiri — members of the Asian Games silver-winning quartet — currently competing in the Goodricke East India Amateur Golf Championship.

For the duo, making it to the Pro circuit is just “a matter of time”, but their show in Doha will remain the bright spot in their career so far. “More than a personal satisfaction, winning the Asian Games silver will sure provide an impetus to popularising the sport further in India,” Anirban told The Telegraph. Joseph echoed the same: “This is an extension of the Indians’ brilliant run on the pro Tour across the globe.”

Gaganjeet Bhullar and Chiragh Kumar were the other members of the team in Doha.

Both Anirban and Joseph attributed their Doha success to consistency and team unity. “In other teams, there were more talented players than us, but we clicked as a team and at the end of the day, it made all the difference,” remarked 19-year-old Anirban.

“All of us had been consistent on the Indian circuit. Plus, a week-long camp in New Delhi before the Asian Games also came in handy. We knew India hadn’t get any medal in the team event since 1982. But we didn’t over-hype the situation and were completely focused in Doha,” added the 22-year-old Joseph.

Anirban, meanwhile, highlighted “bad putting” as the reason for missing out on the gold to South Korea. “The Koreans were superior to us. But had we put up a decent show in the greens, it could have been a different story for India,” he said.

For the record, they will head towards Mumbai from here for the Western India meet. After that, it will be “time to get ready for the pro Tour,” signed off the duo.