by Prachi Bhasin (HT)

Mandira Bedi's charm is no longer restricted to the cricket commentar's box. The golf course has become its latest recipient. There's not much that can come to Kapil Dev's rescue then, as was evident when he went completely bonkers over Bedi while announcing the awards for Vipul Corporate Invitational Golf, a two-day tournament that brought together cricketers and corporate head honchos. "People ask me what Mandira looks like in a close up. And I say, TV offers a better and closer look you know," he said on the stage. Bedi, on the other hand, was only concerned with how much she enjoys her wide spectrum of work ? from promoting cricket to AIDS to acting in films and hosting music awards nights. "Glamour is secondary," she'd have us believe. Looking gorgeous in a Kiran Uttam Ghosh creation, Bedi, quite evidently, was the apple of everyone's eye.

Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and wife Gayatri finished second in the popularity round. Rathore's silver medal in the double trap shooting event at the Olympics was India's first and the hero's welcome continues. Rathore, by the way, "wanted to be a professional golfer before shooting somehow came into the picture." The do was held at Fortune Hotel, which will be formally launched soon. Owned by the Vipul group, the hotel is managed by the ITC group.