Asian Games 2023: Aditi Ashok fires five-under 67 to share second spot, Anirban Lahiri placed tied ninth

The competition is scheduled to be held for a total of four days.

India’s Aditi Ashok posted a blemish-free five-under 67 to remain within two strokes of the opening round leader S.Baba of Japan in the women’s individual golf competition at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, on Thursday (September 28th). Aditi, a four-time Ladies European Tour (LET) champion, finished fourth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and made the less aware Indian fans and the entire golfing world take notice when she also shared the lead with then World No. 1 and eventual gold medallist Nelly Korda of USA.

The 25-year-old, who plies her trade on the lucrative Ladies Professional Golf Association of America (LPGA) Tour in the US, sank two birdies in the first three holes before adding another one on the eighth to end the front nine on 33 at the West Lake International Course. Aditi then had eight straight pars before finishing off on a high with back-to-back birdies to share second place with four others, including the Chinese trio of Yin R, Lin X and Liu Y, besides Yubol A of Thailand.

Other Indians Pranavi Sharath Urs (one-under 71) and Avani Prashanth (even-par 72) were placed joint 17th and tied 21st respectively.

In the women’s team competition, China and Japan shared the lead at 10-under 134, while Thailand were placed sole third, two strokes behind at eight-under 136. South Korea were holding on to fourth place a stroke behind while India were placed fifth at six-under 138.

The men’s team comprising Anirban Lahiri, Shubhankar Sharma, SSP Chawrasia and Khalin Joshi ended Day 1 in tied fifth place alongside Hong Kong China with an overall score of 16-under 200, seven shots behind leaders South Korea. Singapore and Japan shared second place at 21-under 195, with Thailand ending the opening day in fourth place at 19-under 197.

India’s highest-ranked golfer, Lahiri (World No. 148), was cruising at one point of time and even climbed up to tied third place at nine-under-par before slipping to tied ninth spot, courtesy of a double bogey on the 18th hole.

The two-time Olympian produced a birdie hat-trick from the third to the fifth holes before adding another on the eighth to make it 32 on the front nine. On the back nine, Lahiri fired five successive birdies from Holes 13 to 17 before a double bogey pegged him back.

Sang Y of South Korea took the lead at 11-under 61, followed by Kho T of Hong Kong, China, a stroke behind. South Korea’s Cho W, Chen G of China and Japan’s Sumiuchi M were tied for third place at nine-under 63. Thailand’s Khongwatmai P was lying at the sole sixth spot with an overall tally of eight-under 64, a stroke ahead of Lahiri.

Olympian and four-time European Tour winner SSP Chawrasia was placed at the 18th spot with an overall score of five-under 67. His compatriot Shubhankar Sharma ended Day 1 in joint 22nd spot at four-under 68. At two-under 70, Khalin Joshi finished the first round in tied 32nd place.