A double blow from the Indian golf women Diksha, Pranavi

Tokyo Deaflympics gold medalist Diksha Dagar (center) with fellow podium finishers Margaux Brejo of France and Canada’s Erika Dawn Rivard. Image courtesy of IGU.

By Rahul Banerji

Two major achievements were recorded by India’s women golfers in the past week: Diksha Dagar retained her gold medal at the Deaflympics in Tokyo and Pranavi Urs emerged victorious in an event that also included male professionals.

Both women are regular guests on the Ladies European Tour.

On Thursday, Diksha added a second walk to the top step of the podium at Wakasu Golf Links in Tokyo, following a similar trip four years ago in Paris, which was preceded by a silver medal in Rio in 2017.

Interestingly, on the same day, Pranavi emerged as the first woman golfer to win a mixed field event, and by a comfortable margin, at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club.

In Tokyo, Diksha brought in a total of 11 under-pairs to take the lead in a competition that saw competitors from 21 countries taking part in the 25th edition of the Summer Deaflympics.

Diksha recorded rounds of 68, 65 and 72 at the par-72 Wakasu Golf Links course in Tokyo to top the podium by a whopping 14 strokes in the women’s individual stroke play competition.

Solid score

Diksha, who had won gold at the 2021 Deaflympics and silver at the 2017 edition, posted a three-day total of 11 under 205.

Margaux Brejoo from France came second with 3 over 219, followed by Canada’s Erica Dawn Rivard with 5 over 221.

Diksha, 24, is the only hearing-impaired player in the world to have represented her country at both the Deaflympics and the Olympic Games (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024).

“I am very happy to have won back-to-back gold medals at the Deaflympics. The competition is getting tougher every year,” Diksha told IGU Media about her achievement.

“Competing against girls from 20 different countries, I stuck to my plan: attack the flags on par-5s and focus on my short game and approach shots.

“I would like to thank the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Golf Union for their support, and my sponsors, the Ladies European Tour and Women’s Golf Association of India, for providing me with the opportunity to deal with the fierce competition.”

Proud moment

IGU President Brijinder Singh said: “I would like to congratulate Diksha Dagar on her historic gold at the 25th Deaflympic Summer Games in Japan. It is a proud moment for the entire nation, not just us.

“What Diksha has achieved is unprecedented. She is the only golfer in the world to have played both the Olympics and the Deaflympics. All the best to her for her future endeavors!”

In Mumbai, Pranavi defeated overnight leader and close friend Karandep Kochhar at the finish on the BPGC course to post a total of 14-under 178 in the 54-hole event.

Pranavi closed with a stunning 8-under 60, the best card of the week on the par-68 circuit on the final day of the IGPL Invitational Mumbai to beat Kochhar (12-under 180) who closed with a two-shot 64.

When Pranavi defeated the boys, Pranavi laughed, “I can’t describe the feeling, but right now I feel like I’m still numb and it still hasn’t dawned on me, that I’ve actually won.

Ladies European Tour and Hero WPGT regular Pranavi Urs was too good for the field in a mixed event in Mumbai this week. Image courtesy of IGP>

Good benchmark

“In terms of beating the boys, this is a great format and platform and it’s great to be able to play with the boys and see where your game is with them.

“And like I said before, the girls do a lot better internationally than the boys. So I think it’s an advantage for me to have that experience at home.”

Asian Tour player Kochhar was full of praise for Pranavi: “I felt she would win because she played so well.

“She beat us all and even early in the round I realized I would have to play out of my skin to get the upper hand on her.

“To have one lead, shoot 4-under on the last day and still lose by two shots, there’s no shame. You just have to put your hat on every now and then and Pranavi was just great.”

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