Aditi Ashok is determined to make up for her near-miss at the Tokyo Games, while Diksha Dagar aims to overcome the trauma of a recent car accident as the two Indian golfers begin their campaign at the Paris Games on Wednesday. Aditi, a two-time Olympian, came agonizingly close to securing a medal in Tokyo three years ago, finishing fourth, and now seeks redemption. Meanwhile, Diksha, who escaped unhurt from a car accident that left her mother hospitalized, is set on achieving Olympic success despite the challenges.
Aditi is one of the 15 players out of the 60-player field in the women’s Olympic golf competition who have participated in all three Olympic Games since the sport’s return in 2016. Diksha, making her second Olympic appearance, is among the 36 players who have competed in at least one previous Olympic Games.
Aditi will tee off with Gaby Lopez from Mexico and Esther Henseleit from Germany at 9:22 AM local time (12:52 PM IST), while Diksha will play alongside Wei-Ling Hsu from Chinese Taipei and Emma Spitz from Austria at 10:55 AM local time.
The women’s competition runs from Wednesday to Saturday. Aditi, a rookie winner at the Hero Women’s Indian Open in 2016, has won five times on the Ladies European Tour but is still awaiting her first success on the LPGA. She has been competing on the LPGA since 2017. Aditi’s big moment came in 2021 when she was within a whisker of an Olympic medal but finished fourth. Despite missing out on a medal, she was appreciated by the entire country, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Diksha is a unique athlete, having competed in both the Deaflympics and the main Olympics. A double medalist in the Deaflympics, Diksha qualified for Tokyo at the last minute. This time, her consistent performances in 2023 and 2024 earned her a spot months ahead of the games. In Paris, Diksha faced an unexpected scare when the car she was traveling in with her family, including her father Col Narendar Dagar, who also caddies for her, was involved in an accident. While Diksha and her father were unhurt, her brother sustained minor injuries, and her mother hurt her back and was hospitalized but is now recovering.
Aditi is coming off a tie for 22nd at the LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic that ended this past Sunday. This is her fifth consecutive week of play since the Amundi Evian. Aditi’s father, Ashok, was her caddy in 2016, and her mother, Maheshwari, caddied for her in Tokyo. Her father will resume caddy duties in Paris.
In Tokyo, Nelly Korda of the United States won the gold medal, while Mone Inami of Japan secured the silver, and Lydia Ko of New Zealand took the bronze. Aditi finished in a heart-breaking fourth place. In the 2016 Rio Games, Inbee Park of South Korea won the gold, Lydia Ko won the silver, and Shanshan Feng of China took the bronze. Lydia Ko is the only player to have medaled twice and is aiming for a third medal and her first gold.
A total of 33 countries are represented in the 60-athlete field, with twelve of the top 15 players competing this week. Six players who have reached World No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings—Jin Young Ko (Korea), Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Nelly Korda (USA), Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), Lilia Vu (USA), and Ruoning Yin (China)—are in the field.
Minjee Lee of Australia is making her third Olympic appearance, following her brother Min Woo’s Olympic debut in the men’s competition last week. The Lees are the only brother-sister combination in the Olympic golf fields. Celine Boutier is one of two players representing France in the women’s Olympic golf competition, alongside Perrine Delacour. Boutier had the best season of her career in 2023, earning four wins, including a major championship, The Amundi Evian Championship, in her home country.
Women’s golf was previously contested in the Olympics twice in the early 1900s (1900 and 1904) before its reintroduction in 2016.
