Swinging high

BENGALURU: On the morning of August 7, there was something unusual on social media. Indian Twitterati was constantly talking golf, a sport that is hardly popular in India. The mood was palpable. It was Aditi Ashok, who made people sit up and take notice as the seeds of a medal at the Tokyo Olympics were sown by the Bengaluru golfer. However, she did come agonisingly close and finished fourth.

So many eyes on the tele, despite being around 6,000 km away from the action unfurling at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo, was an achievement in itself. For those few hours, everyone was backing Aditi and the sport. It would not be wrong to say that many were learning about the sport on that very day. “I heard about it -- that was the most amazing part of my playing well. I did not know that so many people would get up and watch golf and understand it just because I had a chance for a medal,” Aditi tells us upon her return.

“In a country like India, where golf is not popular and the golfing community is small - to have so many people who want to learn about the sport is great. It always feels wonderful to play well, but this was an added bonus, which I never thought would happen. But I am very thankful for all that support.”

Her performance in the Olympics was top-notch. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she was the youngest golfer, Aditi finished 41st, but she carried that experience to Tokyo and surprised many. Before the start of the Olympics, nobody uttered her name in the same breath as that of other Olympic medal hopefuls from the country.

Meanwhile, participating on the big stage during a pandemic and getting rid of pressure was no easy task. However, Aditi managed to stay away from thinking about the magnitude of the competition. “I just wanted to take one hole at a time. The simple thing to do is hitting the fairway, green and making the putt. That helped me,” says Aditi.

In fact, she was in the top three for all three days, but after the fourth round, she finished fourth. However, it is a positive result, considering the golfers on show. The top ranked golfers of the world were in action, including world number 1, Nelly Korda, who eventually won a gold, and all the three medallists of the Rio Olympics. Aditi, who ranked 200 in women’s golf, was pleased with the way she performed against the big names in women’s golf. “The fact that I could contend with top players - world number 1 and past medallists -- was in itself good. It wasn’t just about competing with them or playing as a part of the field.

It was about being on a level-playing field on all four days with such big names. Game-wise too, there were a lot of positives... the course was kind of long for me but I still managed it well. I stayed patient and took advantage of the holes where I could and I made sure I kept the mistakes to a minimum on the holes where I could,” she says.

There was an element of confidence in Aditi’s voice as well and why not! Aditi, who is a regular in the Ladies European Tour (LET) and the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), has made India proud with her Tokyo display and is looking to bring further laurels to the country in the coming years. She already has three LET titles, but has her eyes on the LPGA success too. “So it was in Tokyo that I showed that I can play at that level and compete with the top golfers. That gives me the confidence of going into regular LPGA events, where I do not have to wonder if I can play with the best in the world. I know that I did it at the Olympics, and I have that experience of finishing fourth,” says Aditi, who could not take her Tokyo form to the Scottish Open, where she did not make the cut over the weekend. 

Back from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she made the world sit up and take notice of a game that is otherwise sidelined, B’luru girl Aditi Ashok is oozing with confidence that the sporting event has given her

(With inputs from Sanath Prasad)