Indian star Gaurav Ghei hopes to battle his way through the strong Japanese field for a successful title defense at the Pine Valley Beijing Open which tees off today.

Ghei enjoyed his third triumph on the Asian Tour at last year's edition and with the event being sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour for the first time this year, along with the Asian Tour and China Golf Association, he will be hoping for a repeat.

"It's great to be back here. Returning to an event which I have won before is always special," said Ghei.

Among the top Asian Tour stars present at the Pine Vallley Golf Club include South Korean youngster Noh Seung-yul, who finished runner-up at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship last week, former Asian No 1s Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant, former US PGA Tour player Scott Hend and local favorite Zhang Lianwei.

The Japanese contingent will feature their winning stars such as Tetsuji Hiratsuka, Katsumasa Miyamoto, Hiroyuki Fujita, the 2003 Okinawa Open winner, and Sushi Ishigaki.

Hoping to return to the leader board since his top-10 result at the EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters in February, the New-Delhi based Ghei will be determined to emulate his 2007 success which spurred him to a stunning season last year.

"Defending a title is very tough but no one can take away the fact that I was the first ever winner of this event last year. There is a strong Japanese field here and that will make it a real challenge out there so we'll see what happens," said the experienced star, who won the 2006 Mercuries Taiwan Masters which ended his 11-year drought on the Asian Tour.

Also familiar to success is Japan's top contender, Miyamoto, who will be hoping for a slice of the $1 million prize money on offer this week.

"I hope to do my best and take the top spot. It is very exciting for all the Japanese players to be able to compete here and I'm sure we will all try to impress in our first tournament outside of Japan," said Miyamoto, who won the curtain raising event on the Japan circuit this season at the Token Homemate Cup.

(China Daily May 8, 2008)