Recent form suggests India will go into the four-day golf competition in the 19th Asian Games at Hangzhou, China that tees off on Thursday as one of the favourites for a healthy medal haul. Top stars Anirban Lahiri, Shubhankar Sharma and Aditi Ashok have not only been in fine touch, but also have plenty of experience to back that as well.
Besides Lahiri, Sharma and Ashok, the seven-member team includes Khalin Joshi and Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia on the men’s side while the women’s team also has Pranavi Urs, and two-time national champion Avani Prashanth. While the first three were automatic choices on the basis of world ranking. Joshi, Chawrasia, Pranavi and Avani came through a qualifier conducted the Indian Golf Union.
Of the seven, Lahiri will arrive in China with a second-place finish over the weekend at LIV Golf Chicago, which he was four holes away from winning before two fateful slips ensured otherwise. The 35-year-old is also the only one to have won a medal at the Asian Games, way back in 2006 when he was still an amateur.
“That was an amazing feeling,” he recalled recently. “For me it is very exciting; obviously to have the opportunity to play again in the Asian Games. It's a great honour to represent the country. It is obviously something I cherish and look forward to. This doesn't come around very often. So it's always very, very important event for me personally. I am really looking forward to spending time with the whole team. I don't really know very well some of them.”
“As for my colleagues in the men’s team, SSP is a very dear friend. We've done Olympics (2016) together. Shubhankar and I are very, very close and we have played a lot together. I think it will be a new experience for Khalin. (Joshi). So yes, all of us are very looking forward to it and nothing will be better for golf in India than if we can bring back some medals.”
The contingent’s senior player, who has also played at two Olympic Games – Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021 along with Ashok, added, “All of us, both the girls and the boys are a strong team. We have some people who are in good form. And I think that's important heading into events like this. Yeah, I think we can bring back a few medals. I say a few because I think we have a very good chance in all four events, the individuals and team, in both men and women. That’s what we will be looking at.”
Aditi said, “I’ve had a good season so far and am excited to play the Asian Games. It’s a nice feeling to be home during the mid-season for a change and get ready for the Games. I’ve been training hard and working on all aspects of my game. I’m lucky to have had the opportunity to play in Incheon 2014 as an amateur and this time as a professional, hopefully I can put together four good rounds in Hangzhou, China.”
Lahiri has a string of top performances on the LIV Golf League circuit including three second-place finishes this year alone and also the International Series on the Asian Tour, while Shubhankar Sharma notched a Top-10 finish at the 2023 Open Championship, the best ever at the event by an Indian.
Aditi has been in great form on the Ladies European Tour, where she won the season-opening Kenya Ladies Open and is currently fourth on the Order of Merit. She has also been very consistent on the world’s strongest Tour, the US-based Ladies PGA Tour. Pranavi has been playing on the Epson Tour, the second level Tour in the US and Avani Prashanth, the only amateur in the squad, won the prestigious Queen Sirikit Cup in Manila this year. She also won a pro event in Europe, while still an amateur.
India’s main challenges at the West Lake International Golf Course will come from a strong South Korean men’s team that includes PGA Tour regulars Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim, and Thailand who are always a threat in continental competition, while Korea, Thailand, Japan and hosts China represent the heavyweight opposition on the women’s side which is likely to see an extremely competitive battle for the medals
Indian Golf Union president Brijinder Singh said ahead of the team’s departure, “It is a very strong team in both men’s and women’s sections. We are confident of medals in both sections and in both individual and team competitions. The most heartening feature is that all seven players are in excellent form and we can look forward to some great golf from them.”
Competition begins on Thursday and will be played over four rounds simultaneously for the team and individual medals.
The team
Men: Khalin Joshi, Shubhankar Sharma, S.S.P. Chawrasia, and Anirban Lahiri
Women: Aditi Ashok, Pranavi Urs, and Avani Prashanth
Past Asian Games medallists
1982 Delhi: Lakshman Singh (Gold, Individual); Lakshman Singh, Rajiv Mohta, Rishi Narain, and Amit Luthra (Gold, Team)
2002 Busan: Shiv Kapur (Gold, Individual)
2006 Doha: Anirban Lahiri, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Joseph Chakola and Chiragh Kumar (Silver, Team)
2010 Guangzhou: Rashid Khan, Rahul Bajaj, Abhijeet Singh Chaddha and Abhinav Lohan (Silver, Team)