From L-R – Paramjit Singh (Referee), Khalin Joshi, SSP Chawrasia, Major General Bibhuti Bhushan (DG, IGU), Avani Prashanth & Pranavi Urs
The Indian golf contingent for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China is ready to tee off on Thursday for what could be a big moment in Indian golf considering that players like Aditi Ashok, Anirban Lahiri, Subhankar Sharma and even Avani Prashanth and Pranavi Urs have been coming off strong performances .
Men –
- Anirban Lahiri – coming off a 2nd place finish at LIV Golf Chicago and has been shooting excellent scores with his confidence at a high. Playing alongside so many of the best players in the world every week, means Anirban could very well challenge for the gold medal.
- Shubhankar Sharma – having recorded a spectacular 8th place finish at the Open championship in July and two weeks ago another 7th place in Ireland, Subhankar should be full of confidence. He has shown that when he is on form, he can match the best in the world and can be a medal contender. He is the only Indian player travelling with his personal physiotherapist and coach Jesse Grewal so has the right support group that was with him at The Open championship.
- SSP Chawrasia – SSP has had a lacklustre season so far – he would have to really strike a rich vein of form this week to do justice to his reputation of having four European Tour titles to his name.
- Khalin Joshi – Although Khalin has won on the Asian Tour and is capable of shooting low scores, he hasn’t tasted much success so far this season but made the cut last week in Taiwan so could have a fair showing.
Women-
- Aditi Ashok – Aditi has enjoyed the best year of her career with a win in Europe and several top 10 finishes on the tough LPGA circuit which is more competitive than the Asian Games field. If she plays to her potential, building on her experience from finishing 4th at the Tokyo Olympics, she, along with Anirban, could be India’s best golfing hope for a medal.
- Avani Prashanth – Avani won the Asia-Pacific Women’s Amateur individual title last March by a whopping 10 strokes and then 3 weeks ago won her first professional title in Europe on the LET’s Access Tour ( the development tour). She is obviously capable of acquitting herself well – if she has a good week, she could do India proud.
- Pranavi Urs – Pranavi who was No. 1 on the domestic Hero WPGT Tour last year, has been playing all over the world in 2023 and has generally been solid playing in varied conditions. If she plays well she could very well finish in the top 15.
You can follow their progress here – https://info.hangzhou2022.cn/en/results/all-sports/athletes.htm
Credits:-
Photo – IGU