Tokyo Olympics: Indian golfers players profile, ranking, opponents, form guide

Here are the profiles and form guides of the Indian golfers in action at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

India's Anirban Lahiri in action: File Picture

Anirban Lahiri

Age - 34

Ranking - 360

Form guide (in 2021 season): Played 19 events, twice finished top-10, on four occasions figured among the top-25 and made nine ‘cuts’.

Lahiri returns for his second straight Olympics. In Rio, he finished a forgettable 56 out of 59 finishers. Therefore, he is obviously keen to do far better this time.

His overall show this season on the PGA Tour has not been outstanding. After contracting Covid-19, he was kept out of action until the first week of May, which could explain his struggle with form. Considering he is 119 on the FedExCup rankings (top 125 retain the playing rights for the next season), Lahiri is understandably keen to play as many events on the Tour.

Since there is no ‘cut’ in the small playing field, Lahiri has planned his return from Tokyo to the PGA Tour for the following week.

Before making the list of 60 qualifiers for Tokyo, Lahiri was fully focussed on retaining his PGA Tour ‘card’. Though it is still on his mind, Lahiri declared that he would do everything to bring a medal from the Olympics.

Considering that Lahiri has not played on the Japanese Tour and knows very little about the course, it is not fair to expect him to pull off a surprise. Being 59th out of the 60 qualifiers, Lahiri has no burden of expectations.

Udayan Mane

Age - 30

Ranking - 365

Form guide: Udayan has played all three events on the domestic PGTI Tour and won the last event in New Delhi. In the previous year, he played in all seven events and won twice.

In addition, Udayan’s runner-up performance in the Bengal Open and third-place finish in the TATA Steel PGTI Players’ Championship at Panchkula helped him to garner ample Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points to gain an Olympic qualification.

Expectations will be low on Udayan Mane, who is still to be a regular on overseas Tours. Photo: Sudhakara Jain

Udayan is placed last - one ahead of teammate Anirban Lahiri - in the list of 60 qualifiers for Tokyo.

Since Asian Tour is yet to restart since early 2020 and Udayan does not play regularly on any other Tour, he owes his place in the Olympics to the 2019 decision of the OWGR system to include points earned from PGTI towards World ranking.

A professional since 2015, Udayan registered two wins in 2019 and three more in the truncated 2020-21 season on the PGTI Tour.

Since Udayan is yet to become a regular on overseas Tours, it will be unfair to expect him to create waves in Tokyo.

Aditi Ashok

Age - 23

Ranking - 179

Form guide: In 2021, Aditi Ashok played in nine events on the LPGA and twice missed the ‘cut’. Her best finish was tied-23rd in the LPGA Drive On Championship. In fact, Aditi’s impressive performances in 2020 on the Ladies European Tour (LET) paved the way for the LPGA this year.

She finished tied-fourth in the Women’s NSW and tied-sixth in the Dubai Moonlight Classic for her two best finishes on the LET.

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok's best finish this year was being tied-23rd in the LPGA Drive On Championship. Photo: Getty Images

This will be Aditi’s second successive appearance in the Olympic Games. In Rio, she shot successive rounds of 68 to be tied eighth after two rounds. However, rounds of 79 and 76 saw her slip to the 41st spot among 59 finishers.

This year, Aditi was placed 45th among 60 qualifiers. Looking at her current form, it is clear that Aditi will have to punch way above her weight to be in contention in Tokyo.