Aditi Ashok on the brink of historic and unexpected medal

In all of the pre-Olympic predictions made by sports panelists, pundits, officials and fans, Aditi Ashok’s name has never appeared as a contender for a medal. This is her second Olympic Games, having finished 41st in the women’s individual golf event at Rio 2016. But the experience she has gained in the meantime and the three professional tournaments she has won since then have been overlooked. At 23, she is floating under the radar. And when she traveled to Tokyo, she remained in the shadow of the highly rated shooters and wrestlers et al.

Now she slips into a historic silver medal.

Mainly in the media, in a quiet corner of Tokyo, at the Kasumigaseki Country Club (about 57 km from the Olympic stadium), Aditi quietly raised the storm on the course. At the end of day three of the four-day event, she sits in second, holding a two-stroke advantage over third-world players Lydia Ko and 17 Hannah Green. Far from the hustle and bustle of the Games, the young woman is ahead of four of the top five ranked golfers today. She is only three strokes behind the American Nelly Korda, world number one.

The Bangalore native is currently ranked no. 200 in the world but was ranked 45th in the list of eligible players to participate in the Games. This is what makes its current position even more spectacular.

“Agree that each country is only allowed to send a few athletes, so not all the big names have come, but the field is still full of big names that it has so far done better than,” said declared golfer Amit Luthra, gold at the 1982 Asian Games. medalist. “You have to have a lot of self-confidence and a strong mentality to do such a thing at such a stage. There are bigger events in golf, but when it comes to the Olympics, everyone is watching and there is all the more pressure.

Long quest

There are still 18 holes that separate the Indian from what will be the most unlikely of medals – but not undeserved. After all, her Olympic quest had started nine years ago, when she learned that the sport had been included in the Olympic list.

“I found out in 2012 that golf would be making a comeback (at the Olympics) after 112 years (at Rio 2016) and I was really excited. As a golfer you wouldn’t imagine you could ever win an Olympic medal, but now it is possible, ”Aditi told The Indian Express in 2016.

“My mom and I planned events and we made an individual effort to perform at professional events as an amateur.”

His parents had planned his course to move from the amateur league to the professional sector. She had already shown her promise when she became the youngest winner of a WGAI (Women’s Golf Association of India) professional event by winning the title in Bangalore when she was just 13 years old.

Today, 10 years later, she is on the verge of winning a medal in an even bigger sporting spectacle. And she has her family close at hand to watch her do it.

Family affair

Since she started playing, her parents, usually Father Gudlamani Ashok, have been taking care of her. This time she took her mother Maheshwari.

“The last time I had my dad on the bag the experience was so amazing, I was like I wanted to have my mom next time and kept that promise,” she told the journalists in Tokyo.

“This time around I think (I have) a lot more experience, just playing on the LPGA for the last five years has been kind of, making you a lot better as a player than I was. was in Rio. “

Not taking his dad, some say, would be a serious misstep, as he is generally more in tune with the sport.

“My dad has been shopping for me since I was nine. He’s seen me grow up as a golfer since the first time I visited a golf course. Other than me, I would say he knows my game the best and it always helps during tournaments, “she told this newspaper.

Taking his mother with him, for Luthra, makes his achievement all the more impressive.

“You now know that every shot she made, every decision on which club to use, is her own. No help aside. She has that clarity of mind and she hasn’t dropped below second in the past three days, ”he says.

Yet his parents continue to be the essential cog in his career. It was as a family that they began to practice this sport, when Aditi was only five years old.

“I started playing when I was five and a half. My parents and I wanted to start something together as a family so we went golfing. I started with a putting which I liked. So, I finally went back to learn all parts of the game and played my first 18 holes when I was 6 years and 2 months old. When I started playing tournaments, I really had fun and had fun, ”she recalls.

Putting, by the way, has been the strongest part of her game. Where she needs to improve is off the tee.

“When I first met her in 2016, I could tell she was very talented on the little game. Her start was slow and she didn’t take advantage of her height (she is 5ft 8in ). It’s something that’s hard to improve when you’re a teenager, ”Luthra adds.

Indeed, the commentator also mentioned this as his weakness during the third day. An improvable glitch, but not something that has bothered her so far in Tokyo.

A medal is near, but not confirmed. But Aditi silently collapsed, thankfully under the radar, into her own green world that may soon turn silver.