By Rahul Banerji
Aditi Ashok will make her second appearance at the Olympic Games after being named on the Tokyo short-list by the International Golf Federation.
The 23-year-old was impressive on Olympic debut at Rio de Janeiro five years ago over the first three days before fading on the final day of competition.
Aditi had a sequence of 68, 68, 69 and 76 in Brazil, and will be looking to deliver better in Japan with years of experience on the LPGA and Europe behind her now.
“I still think of @Rio2016 like it was only yesterday,” Aditi tweeted.
“To have the honour of playing for India @OlympicGolf @Tokyo2020 is beyond exciting. I’m privileged to have the opportunity to represent my country & my sport at the games again.”
Tuesday marked the culmination of qualifying for the women’s golf competition at Tokyo with the publication of the Final Olympic Golf Rankings.
Korda tops field
The list was sealed after the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, won by American Nelly Korda, ended on Sunday. The Atlanta result put the 22-year-old on top of the rankings.
The US and South Korea will have four players each at Tokyo as they are inside the top 15 in the world rankings. None of the other 34 countries represented will have more than two.
The 60-player women’s tournament will be held at Kasumigaseki Country Club from August 4 to 7, the LPGA website noted.
See final women’s and men’s Olympic Golf Rankings here.
On the final list, Aditi was ranked 45th in the Olympics ratings against a world ranking of 178.
With the PGA result, Korda passed South Korea’s Jin Young Ko and Inbee Park in the final rankings. In the Tokyo competition, she will be joined by Danielle Kang, Lexi Thompson and elder sister Jessica.
For South Korea, it will be Ko, Rio winner Park, Sei Young Kim and Hyo-Joo Kim.
Rio silver winner Lydia Ko of New Zealand and bronze medallist Shanshan Feng of China will also be in the fray at Tokyo.
Mane to join Lahiri
Along with the men’s shortlist, on which Udayan Mane is expected to join Anirban Lahiri, the women’s ratings will be sent to the National Olympic Committees for confirmation.
Once NOC confirm use of allocated quota places to the IGF by July 1, the federation will then reallocate all unused quota places before the Tokyo 2020 Sport Entries Deadline on July 5.
It is at this stage that Mane’s name will finally come up on the list of India’s Olympians.
The top 15 in the world rankings are all eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from any one country.
Beyond the top 15, eligibility is based on world rankings, with a maximum of two from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top-15.
The host country is guaranteed a spot, as are each of the five continents of the Olympics.
The final entries list of 60 names for both the men’s and women’s events will be published by the IGF on Tuesday, July 6.
Also read: ‘Best surprise’ says Anirban Lahiri about Tokyo Olympic berth
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Lydia Ko is the most impressive golfer I know. She is the youngest player of either gender to be ranked No 1 in professional golf.