Anirban Lahiri is the only Indian to find a place in the men’s 60-player Final Olympic Golf Rankings, released on Tuesday.
READ: Anirban Lahiri makes cut despite string of bogeys at Palmetto
Lahiri just about made the ‘cut’ after being the 60th player on the list, headed by the World No 1 and recently-crowned US Open champion Jon Rahm (Spain).
The women’s list of 60 players will be finalised after this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
The International Golf Federation (IGF) will confirm the final entry list, for both men and women, on July 6.
"Making it to the Olympics has been a pleasant surprise. It’s a little bit of a shock I would say as I knew that I hadn’t done enough to qualify for the Olympics. I'm overjoyed and so is my family. When I was having breakfast this morning I wasn't in the Olympics, now I am," Lahri said.
“To be honest, after getting the good news I had to think about whether I will compete at the Olympics as a lot of other factors are involved including my full recovery from Covid and my current position on the FedEx Cup standings," he added.
Lahiri contracted COVID-19 a few months ago, but returned to the course soon. "I was down with severe symptoms of Covid in late April and early May and was even admitted to the Emergency Room at a hospital for about three hours. Even after recovering from Covid I have been feeling its after-effects. So I have to manage my workload for some time now.
“I also have a lot of work to do to retain my card on the PGA Tour as I’ve not had a great season so far. So to play the Olympics I have to plan my schedule and travel and also figure out a lot of logistics," he said.
“But finally it was a quick and easy decision in favour of playing the Olympics as one doesn't get such fortune for no reason. I cherish every opportunity of representing India and would never give up a chance like this. The gods are definitely smiling on me.
“Now that I’ve qualified I also need to prepare well for Tokyo in order to be at my best during the event.”
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