Aditi Ashok Tokyo: Indian woman golfer Aditi Ashok was co-leading before she had an unfortunate bogey finish to her first round. With five birdies and a bogey on the 18th hole, following a first-round 67, she finished the day at four-under par for a tied-second spot on the leaderboard.
Ashok trailed Sweden's Madelene Sagstrom by a shot in the Women's Individual Stroke Play Round 1 on Wednesday, kickstarting India's medal hope in Golf in the ongoing Olympics in Tokyo. Appearing for the second time, Ashok played brilliantly and now stands at second rank in the opening round. The final rank will be out once all the golfers finish the day's play.
She will now play in the Women's Individual Stroke Play Round 2 on August 5. Meanwhile, Diksha Dagar is tied 56th with a five-over 76.
Who is Aditi Ashok?
The golfer got a career-best finish on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour in Midland, USA, last month. Competing in the quadrennial extravaganza this year in Japan, Ashok has become a two-time Olympian after her breakthrough in the 2016 Rio Olympics. She competed in the Games as the youngest and the only Indian woman golfer in 2016. She was only 18 then. Having started to learn about the sport from the age of five, she played her first round of 18 holes at the Bangalore Golf Club as a six-year-old. And in no time, she won the maiden Hero Women’s Indian Open in 2016.
Three-time National Junior Champion in 2012, 2013, 2014 and a two-time National Amateur Champion in 2011 and 2014, Ashok also enjoyed competing against the boys and defeating them. “It will bring the attention of majority of viewers to golf and that’s very much needed. It will definitely help grow the sport in a big way as more people will want to know about golf and maybe learn golf too," the Bengalurian once told SheThePeople.
She is a decent player and a regular on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the Ladies European Tour (LET). She has won three LET titles has been and even came close to a maiden LPGA success when she paired with Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational last month, where they finished tied-third. “We don’t get to play for the flag very often as golfers and rarely at an event as big as the Olympics, so I’m excited to be representing the county in Tokyo,” said the 23-year-old, who had finished 41st in Rio after briefly sharing the lead in the second round.
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