By a Correspondent
Fifteen-year-old amateur golfer Avani Prashanth qualified for the Indian team to the Asian Games 2022 by topping the women’s trials at the Karnataka Golf Association in Bangalore on Saturday.
In the men’s trials, Viraj Madappa was followed by Rashid Khan, a silver medallist from the 2010 Asian Games, on the leaderboard.
The three thus booked their places in the Indian golf team for the continental showpiece event in Hangzhou.
Overall, 16 men were competing for two available spots while 11 women competed for one place.
The trial lasted for five days and the best four rounds of each player were considered for the final scores.
India’s top two men and women golfers as per world rankings were awarded direct entries into the Indian team for the Asian Games 2022.
Anirban Lahiri (world no. 85) and Shubhankar Sharma (172) along with Aditi Ashok (112) and Tvesa Malik (323) made the cut directly. They did not participate in the trials.
Missing names
Tokyo Olympian Diksha Dagar, Rayhan Thomas and Arjun Gupta, meanwhile, were some of the highly-rated Indian golfers who did not join the trials due to scheduling.
The men’s contenders included Olympian Udayan Mane and Karandeep Kochhar, nephew of Indian Olympic champion shooter Abhinav Bindra.
In the women’s selection, leader Avani Prashanth’s total of four best rounds was 14-under 274. She upstaged Jahanvi Bakshi, whose four best rounds added up to 12-under 276.
In the trials, Viraj Madappa finished 18-under 270 (66-68-71-69-67). The 26-year-old beat Rashid Khan, who carded a 16-under 272 (68-73-67-66-71).
The Asian Games are scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 10 to 25.
India have won a total of six medals, three gold and three silver across individual and team events, since golf made its debut at the 1982 Asian Games. All medals have been won by men. (courtesy Olympics.com)
The final team composition for 2022 Asian Games is as follows:
Men’s category
1) Anirban Lahiri
2)Shubhankar Sharma
3) Viraj Madappa
4) Rashid Khan
Karandeep Kocchar (Reserve 1)
Krishnav N. Chopra (Reserve 2)
Women’s category
1) Aditi Ashok
2) Tvesa Malik
3) Avani Prashanth
Jahanvi Bakshi (Reserve 1)
Hitaashee Bakshi (Reserve 2)
Scores after final round (best four count)
Women
348: Avani Prashanth (A) (74-64-69-70-71) best four 271, selected
346: Jahanvi Bakshi (69-69-69-69-70) best four 276, reserve 1
356: Hitaashee Bakshi (68-74-74-74-66) best four 282, reserve 2
360: Gaurika Bishnoi (74-72-72-74-68) b/4 286
367: Sneha Singh (A) (76-71-76-68-76) b/4 291
370: Lakhmehar Pardesi (75-73-78-73-71) b/4 292
371: Heena Kang (A) (75-76-77-75-68) b/4 294
370: Kriti Chowhan (74-71-76-74-75) b/4 294
381: Smriti Bhargava (A) (81-75-76-76) b/4 300
380: Seher Atwal (74-75-76-76-79) b/4 301
396: Hunar Mittal (A) (75-84-78-76-83) b/4 312
Men
341: Viraj Madappa (66-68-71-69-67), best four 270, selected
345: Rashid Khan (68-73-67-66-71), best four 272, selected
345: Karandeep Kochhar (69-69-69-67-71), b/4 274, reserve 1
350: Krishnav Nikhil Chopra (A) (72-69-71-71-67) b/4, 278 reserve 2
351: Veer Ahlawat (66-73-69-71-72) b/4 278
350: Udayan Mane (71-71-68-70-70) b/4 279
354: Khalin Joshi (69-73-74-69-69) b/4 280
356: Chikkarangappa S. (76-67-72-69-72) b/4 280
356: Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (68-70-76-66-76) b/4 280
360: Milind Soni (A) (68-78-69-72-70) b/4 282
358: Shaurya Bhattacharya (A) (74-71-70-71-72) b/4 284
358: Kshitij Naveed Kaul (69-73-73-72-71) b/4 285
367: Aryan Roopa Anand (A) (78-72-78-71-68) b/4 289
371: Atiksh Gupta (A) (73-76-75-74-73) b/4 295
376: Shat Mishra (A) (78-77-77-73-73) b/4 300
381: Yuvraj Singh (A) (77-75-74-77-76) b/4 303
Also read: Rashid to the fore in men’s Asiad trials, Avani holds edge over Jahanvi
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