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Aditi Ashok is the latest addition to the list of aspiring female athletes from India among the names of DipaKarmakar, P.V Sindhu and Sakshi Malik. No, she hasn’t won a medal yet but she is the first woman golfer to qualify for the final round of the Woman’s individual golf event at the Rio Olympics 2016.
Who is Aditi Ashok?
The professional Indian golfer had already made history after she became the first Indian to win the Lalla Aicha Tour School and secure her Ladies European Tour card for the 2016 season. The win also made her the youngest winner of a Q School for an international tour. At the young age of 18, Aditi made her mark on Indian sport. The teen remains India’s only woman golfer at Rio 2016.
Aditi Ashok before the Olympics:
Aditi started learning golf at 5 and years and played first round at 6 years 2 months. Her home club is Bangalore Golf Club, also practices at the Karnataka Golf Association
In 2011 she had USHA Karnataka Junior, Southern India Junior, Faldo Series Asia – India, East India Tolly Ladies, All India Championship and in 2012 she took away USHA Delhi Ladies, USHA Army Championship, All India Junior.he 2015 year increased that tally of tournament wins as amateur as she won Army Ladies & Junior Championship, St Rule Trophy, Southern India Ladies & Junior Girls Championship and the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship.
Aditi had qualified for the Olympics on the basis of the Olympic criteria of players being eligible based on the world rankings. According to the criteria, a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top-15 are selected.
Her official woman’s world ranking is 462 as she is set to take the field on Saturday in the finals of her event.
“I think it would be big in India, and also being a golfer — a woman golfer — it will definitely boost the popularity of the sport. That’s what I’m hoping to do,”
-Aditi Ashok
Where does Aditi Ashok stand as of now?
Ashok fired a flawless three-under 68 and was tied seventh after the opening round of the women’s golf competition at the end of the first day which left her three shots behind overnight leader Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, who finished with 6-under 65.She comfortably completed the par-five 1st, before registering her first birdie for the week on the 435-yard par-four 2nd.She then played out the remaining seven holes on the front nine without any shots dropped or gained, and then climbed into the top 10 of the leaderboard for the first time with a birdie on the 526-yard par-five 10th. Aditi then scored her third birdie of the day on the 190-yard par-three 14th, and soon after saw Ciganda slip up from the top of the leaderboard — the Spaniard was at 6-under at one stage, before a double-bogey on the par-four 15th — but held her nerve to finish with 3-under 68.
India’s chances of winning a medal in golf had become the talking point after her first-day show and Aditi took the confidence into her following round on Day 2.She finished her round with a bogey on the 18th hole, the only blip in her journey so far. If not for the bogey, she would have finished the day tied for 4th place. At -6 under par for the event, she was at the 8th place, 3 shots behind the leader and very much in the fray going into the final two rounds.
The start of the third day yielded early warning signs for the 18-year-oldas she bogeyed the 2nd hole. She recovered immediately with a birdie on the 5thhole to put her campaign back on track. After that birdie, there was no further joy as she hit 4 bogeys and 2 double bogeys on a windy day in Rio. She dropped to 31st place by the end of day 3.
Aditi Ashok might have hit a rough patch on a very torrid third day for the young golfer but the Indian audience will have high expectations from her as she enters her final round on Saturday in Rio 2016 Olympic games at the Games Village. She has already garnered enough praise for her performance but will have to put in a strong comeback performance if she has to add to India’s medal tally in the Rio Olympics 2016 this summer.
