FARMVILLE, Va. -- As a young girl,
Asha Bala Krishnan would go along to a golf driving range in her native Malaysia with her younger brother and father. Their father, Peter Krishnan, had played the game as a youth and wanted to teach the game to his son.
"I really didn't want to start (golf) but I was forced to because of him," Asha said of her younger brother. "My mom wanted us to do the same things. My brother followed my dad to the driving range and I was forced to go along."
Asha had not played many sports as a young girl. "I was not very athletic," Krishnan, now a 5-foot-4 sophomore at Longwood, said in a recent interview at Willett Hall.
But Krishnan eventually decided to take up golf and she went on to play four years at the Methodist Girls School in Singapore where she was the 2012 National Inter-Schools Individual champion after taking third in 2009 and 2011.
She was good enough to take part in overseas tournaments and her name was posted on a recruiting website, much to the delight of Longwood women's head coach Ali Wright. Prior to the spring 2013 college season, Krishnan was contacted by Wright, who was looking for a top player to join the program in the middle of the academic year.
"I have a lot of friends who have done the college golf thing," says Krishnan, who knows golfers who have played for Campbell, East Tennessee State and Texas State. "My junior year I decided I wanted to come.
"It is a big challenge but I am here to do what I love, to play golf and go to school. It is better than what I expected," adds Krishnan, who was speaking English at an early age in her home. "It has been great so far. Right now I am working on my swing a lot. I think the short game is the key to everything. I have to keep practicing and get lower scores."
She made a quick impression on her Longwood teammates.
"When I first saw her play I was impressed," said the Lancers' Amelia Boyer, a freshman. "She is also a really good teammate and she helps us out. She is always there for everyone. She hits the ball far and she is really good at putting."
This past Thanksgiving, Boyer invited Krishnan to her home in Suffolk for the holiday – the first time Krishnan took part in the American tradition.
"I am excited to have Asha in the program," said Wright, who grew up in Canada. "In an educational setting, bringing a diverse team together is a good opportunity. Not only do you get different golf experiences but you also provide people with different educational opportunities."
As a young player, Krishnan took part in tournaments in Thailand, Cambodia, Australia, Canada and the United States, including an event in San Diego. Her parents are from Malaysia, but were educated in British universities as accountants.
"I felt if we could add one more, we could compete for a conference championship," Wright said. "I was scouring and turning over rocks to find someone who could come in January and help. Her name came up on a website. I had conversations with companies that put together these profiles."
Krishnan aided the Lancers during the 2013 spring season as she averaged 81.14 in 14 rounds and she posted a spring-best 18-hole score of 76 twice – at the College of Charleston/Kiawah Island Classic and the William and Mary/C&F Bank Collegiate. The Lancers begin the 2014 spring season next wee, March 3-5, at the Miami Hurricanes Invitational in Coral Gables, Florida.
"She had a lot of good scores back in Malaysia, but she also had good experiences with international events," Wright added. "She was young and I knew she would get better. She hits it far enough to be competitive in college golf. She is a good all-around player and she will get better."
The foreign travels of Krishnan included a vacation to England and a week-long mission trip to India when she was in high school. While in India, she and fellow students took books and toys for children in an orphanage. Now her travels have taken her to Farmville, but she may not be the last of her family to play golf in the United States.
Her brother, who is four years younger and still plays golf, aspires to play for a Division I college in the United States and perhaps one day on the pro tour. "He is a lot better than me," she says. But for now, her play is certainly good enough for Coach Wright and the Lancers.
Editor's Note: Special consultant David Driver is a Virginia native and has covered college sports in the state for more than 20 years. He has been a staff writer for newspapers in Arlington, Springfield and Harrisonburg and has contributed to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Washington Post, Stafford County Sun and The Potomac News in Woodbridge. He was also the first sports editor for the daily Baltimore Examiner. He will continue contributing special feature content to longwoodlancers.com throughout the 2013-14 academic year as well. A former Division III baseball player at Eastern Mennonite University, David can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com.
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