Last Olympics, it was Aditi Ashok who was one of the athletes to steal the limelight in Tokyo. The reason behind her getting the attention of the sports fans was not a medal but it was the kind of performance she dished out in a sport which is an alien event for the Indians.
Aditi’s performance compelled Indian fans to follow golf on the last day of the competition as she was in medal contention. They were checking the scores with devotion despite not being aware of the scoring system fully. Aditi Ashok will appear in the Paris Games yet again and the Indian sports enthusiasts will hope that she will secure a medal this time improving her previous performance. Ahead of the Paris Games, let’s go through the history of golf in the Olympics, the Indian contingent, and India's participation in the Olympics in Golf.
- Olympic History
Although golf has a long history the sport has got a very brief stint in the Olympics so far. It first became an Olympic sport in the 1900 edition and then was also played in the 1904 edition again. However, it was then removed from the Olympic Charter and found its way back after a gap of 112 years. Golf was added to the list of sports in the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Each edition except for 1904 hosted a men’s and women’s individual event. In 1904, there was a men’s event and a men’s team event. The USA has been the most successful nation in golf winning 13 medals which includes a total of five golds.
Great Britain is in second place with three medals to their name in the sport.
- Indian Contingent In Paris 2024
Shubhankar Sharma - Ranked 173 in the world, Shubhankar will be coming into the Olympics with the aim of riding on the momentum of his notable performances this year. He has played 17 tournaments this year making the cut in 14 out of them which means there were only three tournaments in which he didn’t progress beyond the two rounds.
Also, it includes two top-ten finishes. His performance in the final major championship of the year, The Open will bolster his confidence as he concludes the tournament at the 19th position amongst 80 golfers who made the cut. Earning a medal is still a tough task for India but if he continues his form from the last tournament it won’t be much difficult.
Gaganjeet Bhullar - World No. 295, Gaganjeet securing a podium finish is an unlikely possibility but the experience of playing at such a big stage will be handy for him for sure. He has appeared in only a couple of DP World Tour events in the last two years and made cut in both of them. In his latest tournament, the Hero Indian Open he ended up in the 58th position and so the Olympics will be a stern challenge for him.
Aditi Ashok - Aditi made her mark in the Olympics with her incredible performance four years back but this time she would like to seal her authority in the sport with a podium finish. She is currently ranked 61st around the globe but has shown much more potential in the past. However, her recent form doesn’t show a very rosy picture. She missed the cut in the Dow Championship, made a top-20 finish in two tournaments and ended up below the top 30 in the other two competitions.
Diksha Dagar - It will be the second appearance for World No. 164. Although she has performed well this year, a lack of exposure to top-tier tournaments might hamper her progress in the Olympics.
- Rules
The main objective of golf is to take the minimum number of shots to sink or put the ball into the hole. Golf matches are played across four rounds of 18 holes each. Whoever completes the course with the fewest number of strokes is declared to be the winner.
A cut is established after the first couple of rounds. Players who are below that cut get dropped after the first two rounds while the ones above that enter the next two rounds. A club is used to hit the golf ball and a golfer is allowed to pick a maximum of 14 clubs. Also, he is allowed to change clubs at the end of the round.
Players need to keep track of the ball as hitting a wrong one can cost them a two-stroke penalty. For every course, a par is pre-established. A par is the number of shots an average golfer would take to complete that particular hole. Golfers are given scores according to how many shots they take. For example, if a players take one shot less than par, their score is one under par. The golfer with the best under-par score is adjudged to be the winner.
