Aditi and Diksha, two Indian golfers, will compete in the Olympics in Paris

New Delhi, April 24 (PTI): Indian golfers Shubhankar Sharma (197) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (232) are also in the running to compete in the Olympics in Paris, along with Aditi Ashok (46), Diksha Dagar (138), and others.

Diksha will be participating for the second time, but Aditi will be making her third Olympic appearance—the most for an Indian. It would be Sharma and Bhullar’s first time competing in the Olympics.

Aditi, who placed fourth in the Tokyo Games 2020, has India’s greatest Olympic result.

According to the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), only 60 men’s and an equal number of women’s players are eligible to compete in the Olympics.

A maximum of four golfers from a single nation may compete in the Olympics, with the top 15 players in the OWGR qualifying.

As long as a nation does not have two or more golfers in the top 15, the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) following the top 15 players may include up to two of its best qualified players per nation.

In the meanwhile, this week has seen career-high rankings for both Indian-American players Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia, who are currently making waves on the PGA Tour.

Now rated No. 12 and No. 33, respectively, are Theegala—who finished second again in 2024—and Bhatia—who won his second PGA Tour championship and made it to the Masters.

Theegala and Bhatia, however, have little chance of competing in the Olympics since there are up to eight Americans among the top 15 in the international rankings.

Theegala has made 11 starts and finished second in the season’s first two events, the Sentry and the RBC Heritage. She also tied for fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and fifth at the WM Phoenix Open.

In his twelve appearances, Bhatia has finished in the top 20 six times and won one in the Texas Open. He also made four cut errors.

Scottie Scheffler (1), Wyndham Clark (3), Xander Schauffele (5), the reigning Olympic champion, and Patrick Cantlay (8) are the top four American competitors. Theegala, who is ranked seventh in the world, is surpassed by two other Americans, Max Homa (9) and Brian Haran (10).

Only four athletes from the US have four or more spots on the list, and they must be in the world’s top 15. If both players place in the top 60 in the Olympic qualifying, then all other nations are allowed to send a maximum of two athletes.

Aditi maintains her ranking in the top 50 in the women’s division despite having just little success in 2024.

Consistently in good form, Diksha has finished in the top 10 in three of her five Ladies European Tour outings and tied for 26th place or better in her two Epson Tour starts.

Additionally, Diksha achieved her highest rating to date of 138 in the women’s global rankings.

The next two Indian ladies are amateur Avani Prashanth at 531 and rookie Pranavi Urs at 403, both competing on the LET.

Sharma is the only man from India in the top 200. He tied for seventh place at the Singapore Classic and tied for sixteenth place at the Dubai Desert Classic, his best finishes.

Bhullar’s best finish in 2024 was tied-43 on the Asian Tour in Oman, but he also took home the trophy in the Indian Tour’s Chandigarh Open, marking his second victory in four months in India.

After Sharma and Bhullar, Veer Ahlawat (380) and Karandeep Kochhar (434) are the next best.