Bengaluru golfer Aditi Ashok fell agonisingly short of a historic Olympic medal, finishing the women’s golf competition in fourth place.
However, it was a memorable second Olympic appearance for Ms. Ashok, an alumna of Jain University and Frank Antony Public School. At the 2016 Rio Games, she had finished tied 41st, with her father acting as her caddie. In Tokyo, it was the turn of her mother Maheshwari to carry the bags.
On Saturday, Ms. Ashok, who started the final round in second spot, missed the medal bracket by a single stroke. The 23-year-old stayed in contention until the very end, but her inability to make birdies on the last four holes proved costly.
The Gold medal went to World No.1 Nelly Korda, who shot 17-under 267 overall. Japan’s Mone Inami and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko tied for second, one stroke behind Nelly, with Mone later winning the play-off hole for silver. It took a brilliant six-under final rounds from Mone and Lydia to push Ms. Ashok (three-under) down the leaderboard.
‘Golden pass’ for Neeraj
Commemorating the golden moment that brought cheer to India on Saturday, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) announced a ‘golden pass’ to Gold medal winner Neeraj Chopra.
“Many congratulations to Olympic golden boy Neeraj Chopra. We celebrate his success and are happy to announce KSRTC Golden Bus Pass to him on the occasion of the 60th year of KSRTC,” said Shivayogi C. Kalasad, MD of KSRTC.
He also announced a free pass for golfer Aditi Ashok. “Many congratulations to Olympic girl and Arjuna Award winner Aditi Ashok for her sporting excellence in golf. Though she missed a medal by a stroke, she has won millions of hearts of golf-loving Indians. We in the KSRTC celebrate her achievements and are happy to announce the KSRTC free bus pass for her.”
