Pranavi Urs scripted history in Aichi-Nagoya on Saturday, as she became the first Indian woman golfer to win a gold medal in the Asian Games, holding on to a slender one stroke lead in the final round to achieve the historic feat that also helped the country claim the team silver.
Pranavi’s medal was India’s first gold since the 2002 men’s individual top honours bagged by . The 23-year-old from Mysore sent in three birdies to recover from a horrendous triple bogey on the third hole, which had wiped away her three-stroke overnight lead.
With a final round score of even-par 70, she ended with a total of 15-under 265 for four days, a stroke ahead of the pack. Her performance also became a crucial factor in giving India the team silver alongside Aditi Ashok (67 in final round) and (77 in final round).
The two best scores are taken into account for deciding the team medals and India ended 14-under 546, well behind gold-winners China (22-under 538).
Born in Bangalore in 1998, Bengaluru native Pranavi started playing golf at the age of five and emerged as one of India’s most promising golfers. She created history in 2015 by becoming the first Indian to win the Ladies British Amateur Stroke Play Championship and turned professional in 2016.
Aditi represented India at three consecutive Olympic Games- Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. Her best performance came at Tokyo 2020, where she finished fourth in the Women’s Individual event, narrowly missing an Olympic medal.
She has established herself as one of India’s leading golfers through her performances on the LPGA and Ladies European Tours. She won the Silver Medal at the Hangzhou 2022 (held in 2023) and was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2020. Aditi remains a prominent figure and role model in Indian women’s golf.
