Haasini Kollu wants to play college golf. But first, there’s the 2028 Summer Olympics, where Kollu has a chance to represent the U.S. — in cricket.
“I think the swing is pretty similar,” said Kollu of her two favorite sports.
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Cricket returns to the Olympics for the first time since 1900, and Kollu, who was the Player of the Match at the U19 women’s national championship in Albany, New York, last summer, has her sights set on L.A.
In an age of specialization, 16-year-old Kollu has tried it all. From archery to badminton to horseback riding, the outgoing Californian prefers to be outside meeting new people rather than on her phone or watching TV. That desire eventually led her to golf three years ago, when she discovered her local First Tee chapter.
Fast forward to last summer, when Kollu, a sophomore, learned that the JV team at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California, was in danger of being cut. Kollu had played on the JV team as a freshman, and while she’d be on varsity as a sophomore, she wanted to make sure that opportunity was still there for her friends. A determined Kollu started making phone calls and got to work, raising the $11,000 needed to keep their season afloat. There were 15 golfers in all last fall, with nine on JV.
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“We really had around a month to get it done,” said Kollu, who even had members of the cricket community lend their support.
Kollu’s parents emigrated to the U.S. from India in 2004, and she first picked up cricket during a trip there at age 4. Selected to the U15 cricket national team in 2024, Kollu played club cricket back home in California, as there’s no school team.
Members of the varsity and JV teams at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California.
While Kollu excels at the highest levels in cricket, her love for golf has taken her to elite spaces, too. In 2024, she took part in the USGA Leadership Academy, a program run by LPGA*USGA Girls Golf. Currently an eLeader on the 2026 LPGA*USGA Girls Golf National Board of Directors, Kollu is passionate about drawing more girls to the sport.
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The USGA hosts an annual Leadership Academy, and Kollu attended one held at the organization’s headquarters in Far Hills, New Jersey, two years ago. Last year, 40 girls came to Pine Needles in Southern Pines, North Carolina, for the two-day leadership retreat.
“It’s great to use golf as the theme,” said Liz Fradkin, USGA senior director, player relations. “But it’s just so much bigger than golf.”
Kollu’s well-rounded approach has been backed by scientific studies. Research from UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital recently found that multi-sport athletes have a higher long-term success rate and fewer injuries. The study looked at hundreds of athletes from the NBA draft between 2013 and 2023.
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Kollu knows that in order to keep progressing in golf while also pursuing her Olympic dreams in cricket, she’ll need superior time management skills.
“It’s gonna be a lot of work,” said a determined Kollu, “but I think I can take it.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Haasini Kollu: Golf star, cricket Olympian, and multi-sport athlete
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