When every Indian’s attention was on badminton, boxing and gymnastics, a young girl was silently making history in golf this Olympic season. This child prodigy held the Indian flag high at Rio Olympics 2016. Meet this young and talented teen golfer- Aditi Ashok.
‘Boundless’ Aditi
Aditi started playing golf since she was six. She completed her schooling earlier this year (2016) from The Frank Anthony Public School in Bangalore. Aditi has been practicing golf at her home club- Bangalore Golf Club and the Karnataka Golf Association, and has had a very successful amateur career. Like she had rightly mentioned in her personal website, her name—which means ‘boundless’—goes pretty well with her attitude.
The Caddy Daddy
Ashok Gudlamani is not just Aditi’s dad but also her caddy. He has supported his daughter in every step and helped her make the right decisions. Though he is not a professional golfer, his support makes a huge difference to her. When asked, he humbly says that he just helps Aditi maintain the sports equipment. Watching his daughter become an Olympian has made him so proud that he was almost in tears. He is so grateful to his daughter for having given him an opportunity to step onto the Olympic ground.
Amateur Career Glory
As an amateur golfer, Aditi has won many tournaments almost every year. She is the only Indian golfer to have played the Youth Olympic Games and Asian Games in 2014. Aditi won the Ladies European Tour’s Lalla Aicha Tour School 2016, the 81st Singha Thailand Amateur Golf Championship, the Ladies British Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship, and the St Rule Trophy 2015. She finished her amateur career as World No. 11 on World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) as the Best Indian Amateur and Best Asian Amateur by the end of 2015.
Being A Professional Golfer
Aditi is well-trained by her coaches- Steven Giuliano from Kuala Lumpur and Nicolas Cabaret from France, for developing strength and conditioning. She became a professional golfer in 2016. Her biggest victory was winning as the youngest and first Indian in LET’s (Ladies European Tour) Lalla Aicha Tour School. As an 18-year old golfer she has competed with many experienced golfers, which is highly commendable.
Aditi Ashok In Rio Olympic Games – 2016
Aditi’s prodigious performances opened the doors to Rio Olympics in 2016. With her amazing world ranking, she easily qualified the Olympics criteria. She was the only woman to represent the country in the Women Golf Individuals. This young golfer says- “Playing in the Olympics was my goal since 2012. To be here as an Indian, to have made it to the Olympics, is a big achievement for me.”
On her first two days at the Olympics, Aditi’s beautiful game kept her in the top 8 with her cards of 68-68. On the third day, her scores dropped, and her position went down to the rank of 57 out of 60 with no birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey.
But we don’t think Aditi is going out of news any soon, and we are here to watch her add more feathers to her cap in the upcoming tournaments. For a debut performer in Olympics, she gave a great fight! The game of Golf is being played in our country for more than 100 years now, after the British influence. If we have managed to get a really strong Olympian to represent the country, winning the gold is definitely not too far. Go for it, Aditi!
P.S. – Watch this space for more real-time updates on Aditi from direct sources!