Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Two Indian women golfers qualify for Paris Olympics

June 24, 2024 18:07 IST

IMAGE: Sitting at 24th, Aditi Ashok is India's highest ranking golfer. Photograph: Aditi Ashok/Reuters

Indian golfers Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar secured their places in the upcoming Paris Olympics based on the world rankings.

This strong showing by the women joins Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar (men's) to create a complete four-member Indian golf team for the Olympics, held from July 26th to August 11th.

For Aditi, this will be her third Olympic appearance, the most for any Indian golfer. Diksha will be competing for the second time, while Sharma and Bhullar will be making their Olympic debuts.

India's best Olympic golf performance so far came from Aditi herself, who finished a commendable fourth in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Qualification for the Olympics is based on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), with a maximum of 60 players each for men and women.

IMAGE: Diksha follows in Aditi's footsteps as the second Indian woman to win on the LET, achieving this feat at the young age of 18.Photograph: SAI Media /X

The top 15 players in the OWGR gain automatic entry, with a maximum of four golfers allowed per country. The Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) then come into play, allowing up to two additional players per country, as long as they don't already have two in the top 15.

As India's highest-ranked female golfer, Aditi sits at 24th. Diksha secured her spot at 40th in the rankings. Notably, Diksha holds a unique distinction - she's the only golfer to compete in both the Olympics and the Deaflympics, where she's a two-time medalist. On the professional circuit, Diksha follows in Aditi's footsteps as the second Indian woman to win on the LET, achieving this feat at the young age of 18.

© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.