Indian golfers Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar begin their Paris Games journey this Wednesday, both driven by a desire to overcome past hardships. Aditi is looking to make up for her near-miss in Tokyo, where she finished just outside the medals in fourth place. For Diksha, the challenge is emotional; she is striving to put a traumatic car crash behind her—an accident that saw her mother hospitalized, though Diksha herself escaped physical injury. Now 23, the Jhajjar native has pushed through these difficulties and is determined to make her mark in Paris.
Aditi Ashok will be determined to make amends for her near-miss at the Tokyo Games, while Diksha Dagar will look to overcome the trauma of a car tragedy as the two Indian golfers begin their campaigns at the Paris Games on Wednesday. Aditi, a two-time Olympian, came agonizingly close to winning a medal in Tokyo three years ago but finished fourth, and she will look for redemption this time. Diksha, on the other hand, escaped unharmed despite being engaged in a car accident that hospitalized her mother. However, the 23-year-old from Jhajjar has overcome all obstacles and is determined to achieve Olympic success.
Aditi is among a select group of 15 golfers who have competed in all three Olympic tournaments since golf reappeared in 2016. Her teammate, Diksha Dagar, is also an experienced Olympian, ranking among the 36 players in the field who have previously competed on the world stage.
The schedule sees Aditi starting her round at 9:22 AM local time (12:52 p.m. IST) with Gaby Lopez and Esther Henseleit. Diksha will tee off later at 10:55 AM, joining Emma Spitz and Wei-Ling Hsu. The women's tournament is scheduled from Wednesday, August 7, to Saturday, August 11.
Aditi's career has been marked by early success, including a rookie win at the 2016 Hero Women’s Indian Open. While she has secured five victories on the Ladies European Tour and has been a staple of the LPGA since 2017, a win on the LPGA circuit remains an elusive goal. Her most defining Olympic moment came in 2020; though she finished fourth and missed a medal, her performance earned her widespread acclaim across India, including personal praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Aditi enters Paris in the midst of a rigorous schedule, having just tied for 22nd at the Portland Classic. This marks her fifth consecutive week of competition following the Amundi Evian. Family support has always been central to her journey: her father, Ashok, caddied for her in 2016, and her mother, Maheshwari, took over the bag in Tokyo. For the Paris Games, her father returns to her side as her caddie, a role he has filled for most of her LPGA career.
The competition is fierce, with 60 golfers representing 33 different nations. The quality of the field is exceptionally high, featuring 12 of the top 15 players globally. Among the contenders are six women who have previously held the World No. 1 spot in the Rolex Rankings: Lilia Vu and Nelly Korda from the USA, Jin Young Ko from Korea, Lydia Ko from New Zealand, Ruoning Yin from China, and Atthaya Thitikul from Thailand.