Aditi Ashok finishes fourth: Golfer Aditi Ashok narrowly missed out on winning an Olympic medal at Women's Individual Stroke Play on Saturday. She ranked 4 at the end of round 4. Fans were rooting for her to become the first golfer from India to clinch a medal in the Olympics. Nonetheless, her performance over the last few days is being widely celebrated in the country, marking a new era for women's golf in India.
The 23-year-old fired a stellar performance throughout the game but missed the opportunity to overtake the leader and go for the ultimate prize. World No. 1 and LPGA champion Nelly Korda added an Olympic gold to her impressive career. Japan's Mone Inami won silver and New Zealand's Lydio Ko secured a bronze.
Before the play was suspended temporarily, given rain and lightning risk, Ashok was placed in the third spot after 16 holes. The official statement read that if the 72 holes in round 4 of the women’s golf remain incomplete due to the rain, then medals will be decided as per standings after 54 holes (3 rounds). As per that, Ashok would have won a silver as she was clear second at the end of round 3.
After the play resumed, LPGA Champion Nelly Korda was in the clear lead at -17 as the players approach the green for the climax. Japan's Mone Inami bogeyed on the final hole. She was standing No. 2 Ashok needed a birdie to climb up into medal contention but she slipped to 4th position at the 17th hole with one more hole to play. At the end of the final round, the young golfer settled in the fourth place
The young golfer's appearance in her second Olympic Games was historic in every sense. Not only did she overturn her 41st place finish in Rio, but also stayed in the top three for the first three rounds, which no other Indian golfer has ever achieved before.
Ashok is just 21 and has quietly notched the top place in the women’s golf table. She was the youngest player at the 2016 Rio Olympics, aged 18. Back in 2016, she became the only woman golfer to represent India at the event. Five years later, the world number 200 has stunned players like world number 1 Nelly Korda and world number 15 Mone Inami with her class.
Five years ago, when Ashok made her Olympics debut, her father, Pandit Gudlamani Ashok, was caddying for her and this year it was her mother, Maheshwari, who has been a big influence on her. All about her here.
Today, Ashok has 18 Major appearances under her belt and has attracted global attention. But this success came courtesy of an early start at the game. The Bengaluru athlete started playing golf at the age of five.
Congratulating the young golfer for her performance, President of India Ram Nath Kovind tweeted, "Well played, Aditi Ashok! One more daughter of India makes her mark! You have taken Indian golfing to new heights by today's historic performance. You have played with immense calm & poise. Congratulations for the impressive display of grit & skills."
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