Road to Paris, Golf: Who has qualified for the Olympics and how did they make it? Can India win a medal?

Golf has a very brief history in the Olympic programme, having been re-introduced in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games. The sport was brought back after a 112-year absence, and Indian golfers have participated in both the editions since.

At Rio 2016, India found representation from two male golfers and one female. Anirban Lahiri, SSP Chawrasia and Aditi Ashok carried India’s hopes. In the advent of the sport in the Olympics, it was one to forget for India. Lahiri finished 57th, Chawrasia a tied 50th and Ashok in 41st place.

For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, India had representation from four golfers. Lahiri, Udayan Mane, Aditi and Diksha Dagar qualified for the event in Japan.

While Lahiri (tied 42nd), Mane (56th) and Dagar (tied 50th) didn’t produce anything of note, Aditi made headlines with her impressive performance. Ashok was in contention for a medal throughout the three rounds only to suffer a dreadful drop in the fourth and final round. She ultimately finished fourth, narrowly missing out on what would have been India’s first Olympic medal in golf.

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While India has yet to secure an Olympic medal in golf, Ashok’s performance in Tokyo has raised the profile of the sport in the country and sparked hope for future success.

Who has qualified for the Paris Olympics?

In golf, qualification is determined by the rankings. For Paris 2024, a total of 60 men’s and 60 women’s players have qualified through the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

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The top 15 players in the OWGR have secured spots at the Olympic Games, with a maximum of four golfers allowed from a single country.

Following the top 15, the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) feature up to two additional eligible players from each country, provided that country does not already have two representatives in the top-15.

With that in mind, India are sending four golfers to the Paris Olympics 2024 with an aim of clinching a medal in the sport. Aditi will be keen on doing what she came close to achieving thee years ago. She will find the support of Gaganjeet Bhullar, Shubhankar Sharma and Diksha Dagar in the French capital. In golf, the events are broken into men’s and women’s fields.

All four have qualified directly for the men’s and women’s individual competitions, based on their respective world rankings, as the top 60 players, on the IGF World Rankings.

Aditi (ranked 60th), Diksha (ranked 167th), Shubhankar (ranked 219th) and Bhullar (ranked 261st) have made the cut thanks to the IGF World Ranking on June 17 (men) and June 24 (women).

Is a medal possible?

Aditi Ashok once again carries bulk of India’s hopes of a miracle medal in golf at the Olympics. Despite the heartbreak of Tokyo, she became the first Indian woman to win a medal in golf at the 2022 Asian Games with a silver.

But a repeat of going close to the podium looks challenging based on form alone. Her best showing this year has been at The Amundi Evian Championship, finishing a tied 17th. At the other end, she’s failed to make the cut in four of 16 tournaments.

“My results have been average (this year). I have played well in streaks but not for all four days,” Aditi told SAI Media.

“I’m looking at each event with the same importance and trying to do my best for all four days each week. That should get me in a good frame of mind and routine before the Games and hopefully that will be enough at Paris,” she added.

Diksha, set for her second Olympics appearance, is another to watch out for but again, a medal is unlikely.

The 23-year-old became the first Indian golfer to tee off in 100 Ladies European Tour (LET) events in May. Her most promising result recently has been a tied-sixth at the Italian Open in June.

“All events from here on will be like an Olympics for me. Focusing on my discipline and process in all the tournaments that I am going to play will be important,” Diksha had said during a Fit India Champions podcast.

When will golf take place at the Paris Olympics?

The golf events at the 2024 Summer Olympics are scheduled to run from August 1-10 at Le Golf National in Guyancourt. The men’s event will run from August 1 until August 4. The women’s will start on August 7 and wrap up on August 10.