Olympian woman golfer, family unhurt in Paris car accident

Diksha Dagar at the Paris Olympics Games Village. The two-time Olympian was unhurt in a car accident on Tuesday. Image courtesy X.

By Rahul Banerji

Indian golfer Diksha Dagar escaped unhurt when a car she was travelling in was involved in an accident on Tuesday night though her mother has been hospitalised.

The Dagar family was returning from a function hosted by the Indian Embassy in Paris. In a statement the Indian Golf Union said the golfer would participate in her second Olympic Games on schedule.

Agency reports said Diksha, her father and caddy Narinder, mother and brother were in the car that was hit at a traffic light.

Diksha and Aditi Ashok, who will appear in her third Olympic Games after Rio and Tokyo, will tee off at the women’s competition next Wednesday.

Diksha’s father said the golfer was unhurt, though her mother had been hospitalised with an injury to the spinal area and would remain under observation for a few more days.

“We spoke to Diksha’s father Col. Dagar after the accident and would like to confirm that the family is safe,” IGU president Brijinder Singh said in a statement.

“Diksha’s mother has suffered a stress in her spine due to the impact and is under medical supervision and her brother is also safe and sound.

“On behalf of the Indian Golf Union I would like to reiterate that we are in continuous touch with the family and will continue to provide whatever support possible in this situation,” Singh added.

Shubhankar is T29th

Meanwhile, in the men’s competition that began on Thursday, Shubhankar Sharma was tied 29^th on 1 under par after 17 holes when play was halted with lightning threatening the Guyancourt area.

Fellow-debutant Gaganjeet Bhullar was down in tied 56^th place on a 4 over par 75 at Le Golf National.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama held the clubhouse lead with a sparkling 8 under 63 having teed off in the morning flight.

Tokyo Olympics winner Xander Schauffele of the US was second on 6 under 65 while Chile’s Joaquin Neimann, Emiliano Grillo of Argentina and Joohyung ‘Tom’ Kim of Korea shared third place on 5 under 66s.

Also read: Olympics men’s event tees off at Le Golf National on Thursday