Bengaluru hails golfer Aditi's stellar performance in Olympics

Bengaluru: Golfer Aditi Ashok's feat in Tokyo has warmed a million hearts even though she missed out on a medal by a whisker on Saturday.

While there was heartbreak for Aditi as she narrowly missed the bronze medal in the women's individual strokeplay competition at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing fourth with an aggregate score of 15-under 269 on Saturday, her spirited performance has won the heart of the nation.

Festive mood prevailed at the premises of the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) in Bengaluru after local star Aditi finished fourth in Tokyo.

Golfers from all across the country, especially in Bengaluru, woke up on Saturday at 4 am to cheer for Aditi. A 20x20 screen was set up at the KGA premises to celebrate and cheer Aditi's Olympic journey till the end.

"Though she has finished fourth, Aditi's achievement has warmed our hearts. At KGA, everyone is talking about her feat and messages are pouring in. After the first round, the expectations rose for a medal. For the last two days at KGA, the golfers and patrons gathered early in the morning to cheer her," said Prithwi Raj Urs, Secretary, KGA, who is also a golfer.

"What she achieved was brilliant. She has been exceptional right from the age of 5 or 6. I played with her five years back and it was a wonderful experience. She does not celebrate like others and maintains calm all the time," Urs added.

Tarun Desai, who coached Aditi for 7 years since she was 8 years oldm said the next generation of golfers will remember her feat as her contribution to the game of golf is huge.

"Today I woke up at 4.30 am to catch the action live. It was kind of mixed emotions because what she has done for Indian golf is huge. It has put Indian golf into the hearts of all Indians, not just the people who play thr sport.

"I was a little disappointed after Aditi finished fourth, as in an Olympics, it is not the best. You can finish tenth and you might feel better than finishing fourth," he said.

He said that Aditi needs to be very proud of what she has achieved, and what she has done for the sport in the country by this performance.

Adiiti's feat is going to bring in a lot more support for the sport, both from the government and the corporate sector, he said.

"I think all the players in future will have to be thankful to Aditi for this performance. It is going to catapult golf and the way golf is looked at as an Olympic sport for the future," Desai said.

"I coached her for about 7 years when she was young. What we were able to achieve was that we laid a strong foundation for her. Now she has taken off which is great and I am proud of it. I am very happy for her. The golf club has been very supportive towards her and they supported us throughout her tenure when she was in India before she was playing in the US," Desai explained.

"She was so focused and what we call 'coachable', because she would always listen to what we said, she always took notes, she was very meticulous about keeping data and mentoring her was a lot of fun. I had no doubt that she would be going for international tours and win medals for the country.

"By the time she was 13, she was at her first professional event. She became the youngest person in the world to win a professional event. She shared that record with international golfer Lyda Ko against whom she played with today," he said.

"Lyda Ko also won a professional event at the age of 13. It was really good to watch them play together. Aditi was very attentive during practice sessions. That is why she has been able to achieve what she did today," Desai said, adding: "Golfers from Jammu and Kashmir and even Nepal sent us messages, hoping that she wins, which was great."

Golfer Aryan Roopa Anand, who is a friend of Aditi, said, "It's great for the country. To be honest, we live in a country where cricket is considered to be 'the sport', as a result many other sports don't get the limelight they deserve. What she has done now is quite tremendous for us as a golfing nation.

"After Aditi's achievement, golf is on the Indian sporting map now. There is a lot of recognition from celebrities, ministers. We all needed one superstar, and we have Aditi now. "We have known her for a very long time. We used to practice a lot together. For her as an individual, it's a tremendous feat. For us as a nation, it is great, as now we have that one superstar who won laurels in the sport for us," he added.

"She pulled herself back really well today and had a fighting chance till the end. I was at the edge of my seat. She put up a stellar performance," Anand said.

Govndaraju, MLC and Karnataka Olympic Association President, termed Aditi's performance as great and told IANS, "We will facilitate her."

"She hails from Karnataka and it is a matter of pride for us. She has a bright future, and the Karnataka government is with Aditi Ashok. I wish her all the luck for future tournaments," said Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.