Indian golfers Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar have officially qualified to compete in the Paris Olympics as part of the Indian contingent at Le Golf National. While Aditi will make her third Olympic appearance, the most by an Indian, Diksha will compete for the second time. Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar will be making their debut at the Paris Olympics.
Aditi finished fourth at the Tokyo Games 2020, giving India its greatest Olympic achievement. The Indian Golf Union submits Olympic entries, and qualification is based on the rankings, which are limited to 60 men’s and as many women’s players via the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
The top 15 players in the OWGR qualify for the Olympics, with a maximum of four golfers from a single country. Following the top 15 players, the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) include up to two top-eligible players from each country, as long as there are no more than two golfers in the top 15.
Aditi, India’s highest-ranked female player, made the cut with an OGR of 24, and Diksha secured her spot with an OGR of 40. Diksha is the first golfer to have competed in both the Olympics and the Deaflympics, where she won two medals. The 23-year-old took silver in 2017 in Turkey and gold in 2022 in Brazil. She became the second Indian woman to win the LET, after Aditi Ashok and the youngest to do it at the age of 18. Aditi and Diksha are poised to join Sharma and Bhullar as India’s four representatives.
It’s a privilege and honor to represent India at the Olympics. It’s a dream come true obviously. We have a very good and experienced team in Gaganjeet, Aditi, Diksha, and myself, stated Shubhankar Sharma. If Olympic week turns our way, any medal is possible. Personally speaking, my game is trending in the right direction and I am keyed up to deliver, exclaimed a confident Sharma.
Meanwhile, Alena Sharp and Brooke Henderson will represent Canada in the women’s golf tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Golf Canada said on Monday. Paris 2024 will mark the third Olympic appearance for both Sharp and Henderson after they competed at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Any time you can go and represent your country it’s a very proud moment. To be able to wear the Maple Leaf and go to Paris is really exciting for me, said 26-year-old Henderson.
