Top 3 moments for India in golf at the Olympics
Golf made its return to the Olympics in 2016, after a 112-year hiatus. Since its reintroduction, India has sent only a handful of golfers to the Games, but the country’s golfers have already achieved several significant milestones.
Indian golfers such as Aditi Ashok, Anirban Lahiri, and Diksha Dagar have broken unprecedented barriers and made their mark at the games. Now, India is all set to send a strong, four-person contingent to the Paris Olympics.
Let us take a look at three of the best moments of Indian golf at the Olympics.
#1 Aditi Ashok
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Aditi Ashok made history by becoming the first Indian golfer to secure a top-four finish. Aditi represented India at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the women's individual stroke play event, despite being ranked 200th in the world.
She finished an impressive fourth with a score of 269 and 15-under par, just two shots behind gold medal winner Nelly Korda of the United States.
At one point, after 54 holes, Aditi was in the silver medal position and remained in medal contention for most of the fourth round but eventually had to settle for fourth place. She carded 3-under 68 in the final round and had a combined score of 15-under, just one shot off from playing for the medal places.
This marked the best finish of any Indian golfer at the Olympics and catapulted Aditi into the history books.
Aditi also created history at the Rio Olympics, becoming the first Indian woman golfer to compete at the Summer Games. At 18 years old, she was also the youngest contender in the women's event; she eventually finished 41st out of the 60 golfers at Rio 2016.
#2 Diksha Dagar
Diksha Dagar made history by representing India at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The debut marked not only her maiden Olympic appearance, but she also became India’s first deaf sportsperson at the Games. Diksha became one of the handful of deaf athletes to compete at the Olympics and the first golfer to compete at both the Olympics and the Deaflympics. She finished tied-50th in the women's individual event at the Tokyo Olympics.
Diksha also qualified to compete at the 2021 Summer Deaflympics (held in May 2022), marking her second Deaflympic appearance (her first was in 2017). She claimed the gold medal in the women's individual event at the Deaflympics, defeating USA's Ashlyn Grace in the final.
This victory made her the first and only golfer in Deaflympics history to secure two medals in golf since the sport was introduced to the Deaflympics in 2017.
#3 India set to send highest-ever golf contingent for Paris Olympics 2024
India is set to send a strong contingent of four golfers to the Paris 2024 Olympics. Unlike the previous years, where the Indian contingent had one or two golfers in contention, the Paris Olympics will see four golfers from the country in action, making it an incredible moment in India’s Olympic journey in golf. Shubhankar Sharma, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Aditi Ashok, and Diksha Dagar will compete under the Indian flag for the medals.
Aditi Ashok will make her third appearance at the Games. Having finished 4th in Tokyo, narrowly missing out on a medal, the 26-year-old could very well secure a historic medal in Paris. Aditi’s impressive performances since Tokyo, including a silver medal at the Asian Games, are evidence of her ability to be a top contender.
India’s other golfer in the women’s category, Diksha Dagar, will participate in her second Olympics. Since the Tokyo Olympics, Diksha has climbed up the rankings, producing brilliant performances, including a gold at the Deaflympics. Looking at recent performances, Dagar has the potential to put on an impressive show and secure a medal in Paris.
Unlike India’s female golfers, Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar will be making their Olympic debuts. Sharma, a two-time European Tour winner and former No. 1 player in Asia in 2018, has significant potential to do well.
Bhullar, on the other hand, has extensive experience competing at the highest level. He is an 11-time Asian Tour champion and a 2006 Asian Games silver medalist. Despite being debutants, both Sharma and Bhullar have the credentials to be strong medal contenders in Paris.