Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar qualify for Paris Olympics

New Delhi: Indian golfing stars Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar on Monday secured qualification to the upcoming Paris Olympics via the world rankings. The two women join Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar (men's section) to form a four-member Indian team for the showpiece, which will be held from July 26 to August 11.

While it will be a third appearance for Aditi at the Olympics which is also the most for an Indian, Diksha will be competing for the second time.

For Sharma and Bhullar, it would be their maiden appearance at the Olympics.

India's best performance at the Olympics came from Aditi who finished fourth in the Tokyo Games 2020.

The Olympic entries are sent by the Indian Golf Union.

Qualification for Olympics is determined by rankings, limited to 60 men's and as many women's players through the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

The top 15 players in the OWGR are eligible for the Olympics with a maximum limit of four golfers allowed from a single country.

The Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR), after the top 15 players, consists of up to top two eligible players per country, as long as it does not have at least two golfers in the top 15.

Aditi, the highest-ranked female player from India, is ranked 24, while Diksha sealed her spot by claiming the 40th position.

Diksha is the only golfer to have appeared in both the Olympics and the Deaflympics, where she is a two-time medallist.

Diksha is the second Indian woman to win on the LET (Ladies European Tour) after Aditi and remains the youngest to do so at the age of 18.