Tokyo Olympics 2020: Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar to commence India’s campaign in women’s golf event

Tokyo: India’s Diksha Dagar, who arrived in Tokyo late on Sunday as virtually the last entrant in the women’s section, shrugged off her tiredness following a long travel from Northern Ireland as she got ready for the women’s Olympic golf competition this week. Diksha joins India’s top woman golfer, Aditi Ashok, who is playing her second Olympic Games. Aditi landed in the Japanese capital much earlier and said she was looking forward to the campaign. Aditi plays the first round with Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Giulia Molinaro, while Diksha plays with Kim Metraux and Tonje Daffinrud. Korea’s Inbee Park is feeling relaxed and confident ahead of her gold medal defence which begins on Wednesday. The 33-year-old Park struck gold for her country in Rio 2016 when golf made a welcome return following a 112-year lapse and she did so under intense pressure and scrutiny due to a lingering thumb injury and representing a golf-crazed nation. Park will tee up in the opening two rounds alongside silver medallist Lydia Ko of New Zealand and China’s Shanshan Feng, who won bronze in Rio. World No 1 and recent KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner, Nelly Korda of the United States, world No 2 Jin Young Ko of Korea and world No 11 Nasa Hataoka of host country Japan will also attract plenty of attention when they begin their Olympic campaigns. Jin Young Ko, an eight-time LPGA TOUR winner, remembers watching Park win the gold medal for Korea and started dreaming of Tokyo 2020. China’s Feng, a 10-time winner on the LPGA Tour, said winning the bronze medal in Rio was a major career highlight and it would push her on to challenge for another podium finish in Tokyo, especially when she thinks this could be her last Olympics appearance.