Golf: Aditi Ashok created history, became the first Indian woman to win a medal in the Asian Games

Hangzhou. India’s Aditi Ashok has created history by winning silver medal in the women’s individual golf event at the Asian Games on Sunday. Aditi was in the lead for the first three rounds but in the last minute she fell behind a bit due to some of her shots going here and there.

25-year-old Aditi finished second at 17-under with rounds of 67-66-61-73 at the West Lake International Golf Course. She finished behind Thailand’s Arpichay Yubol, who shot 67-65-69-77 to win the gold medal at 19-under. South Korea’s Hyunjo Yoo won the bronze medal with 16-under and rounds of 67-67-68-65.

Aditi Ashok also became the second Indian and first woman after Shiv Kapoor to win an individual medal in Asian Games golf. Shiv Kapoor won the gold medal in the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

Indian Golf Union President Brijinder Singh has congratulated Aditi Ashok for her historic achievement. Meanwhile, IGU President Brijinder Singh said, “It has been a long wait. With professionals being allowed to play, competition became tougher. Despite tough competition, this is a historic and spectacular victory for Aditi. Many congratulations to Aditi.”

The other two Indian participants in the competition, Pranavi URS Sharath and Avani Prashant, stood 12th and 17th respectively.

India currently has seven medals (three gold and four silver) in golf in the history of the Asian Games. India also ended its 13-year wait for a golf medal at the Asian Games after the trio of Rahul Bajaj, Abhijeet Singh Chaddha and Rashid Khan and Abhinav Lohan won a silver medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.

Aditi Ashok’s career

Aditi Ashok has been a pioneer for women’s golf in India since turning professional in 2016. Aditi has made significant progress in her career, including becoming the first Indian woman golfer to enter the top 50 in the world rankings after a T5 finish at the LPGA Founders Cup. Ashok’s journey in golf started early. He won the National Junior Championship three consecutive times in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2014, she won both the junior and senior titles simultaneously. She was the only Indian golfer to have played in both the 2013 Asian Youth Games, 2014 Youth Olympics and Asian Games.

Aditi’s professional career has also been equally impressive. She plays on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour and has earned US$646,044 (5.3 crore). She also finished in the top 10 of the Ladies European Tour money list, having recorded one win at the start of the season, finishing second and third.

Taichi Kho of Hong Kong-China won the gold medal in the men’s individual event with a total score of 27-under 261. South Korean Sungjae Im won the silver medal, finishing one stroke behind Taichi while Chinese Taipei’s Chien-Yao Hung took the bronze at 24-under 264.

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