Indian golfer Aditi Ashok (46) and Diksha Dagar (138) are set to compete in the Paris Olympics. Shubhankar Sharma (197) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (232) also have a good chance of qualifying for the event. This will be Aditi Ashok’s third time at the Olympics which is the most appearances by any Indian golfer whereas Diksha Dagar will be playing for the second time in the Olympics. Meanwhile, it would be the first time for Shubhankar Sharma and Bhullar at the Olympics. India’s top Olympic golf performance came from Aditi who finished fourth at the 2022 Tokyo Games.
Olympic entries sent by the Indian Golf Union
The Indian Golf Union is responsible for sending Olympic entries. Olympic qualification is based on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), limited to 60 men’s and as many as women’s players. The top 15 players in the OWGR automatically qualify for the Olympics with a maximum limit of four golfers allowed from any country.
Meanwhile, the two Indian-Americans Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia are making waves on the PGA Tour. Recently, they both have reached career-high rankings of 12 and 33 respectively. Despite their achievements, they will not compete in the Olympics due to the dominance of American players in the top 15 spots.
The top four Americans are Scottie Scheffler (1), Wyndham Clark (3), defending Olympic champion Xander Schauffele (5) and Patrick Cantlay (8). The two other Americans Max Homa (9) and Brian Haran (10) are also ranked higher than Theegala, who is the seventh highest-ranked American in the world rankings.
Each country can send a maximum of two players to the Olympics, provided they are ranked within the top 60. However, the United States has the privilege of sending up to four players if all of them are ranked within the top 15.
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In the women’s category, Aditi remains in the top 50 despite a modest performance in 2024. On the other hand, Diksha has shown strong form and has been in the Top 10 three times in five starts on the Ladies European Tour and consistently performing well on the Epson Tour. She has also touched 138 in the women’s world rankings which is her best so far. Meanwhile, Pranavi Urs and amateur Avani Prashanth are the next-ranked Indian women at 403 and 531, respectively.
Sharma and Bhullar's top performance
Among Indian men, Sharma is the only one in the top 200. He has a best finish of tied-seventh at the Singapore Classic and tied-16 at the Dubai Desert Classic. Bhullar's top performance in 2024 has been tied-43 in Oman on the Asian Tour. He also won the Chandigarh Open in India which marked his second win in India within four months. Following Sharma and Bhullar are Veer Ahlawat at 380 and Karandeep Kochhar at 434.
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