Tokyo Olympics: With mom as caddie, golfer Aditi Ashok exceeded all expectations

Tokyo: The official Olympics Twitter handle ‘@Olympics’ gave 23-year-old Indian golfer Aditi Ashok the ultimate tribute after she fought till the very end to finish fourth on the penultimate day of the Tokyo Games saying “she fought until the end for a medal in #Golf”.

Posting a picture of Aditi in an animated discussion with her mother and a loaded golf bag lying in front of them, @Olympics tweeted, “Shout-out to Aditi Ashok. 200th player in the world; Her caddie at #Tokyo2020 was her mother (Smiling face with 3 hearts emoji); Fought until the end for a medal in #Golf (Clapping hands sign) #IND”.

The young Aditi is currently ranked 200th in the world and has not played many tournaments on the LPGA, but she fought like a battle-hardened pro who has been playing the sport for years.

Coming from a middle-class background, Aditi’s father Gudlamani Ashok, was her caddie at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games where as an 18-year-old she made her biggest golfing debut and finished 41st. But here in Tokyo, it was her mother who carried her bag, giving her bits of advice to guide Aditi to a near-podium finish.

“I think when my dad’s there he knows my game a lot more, probably sometimes more than I know myself, so I always feel compelled to rely on him sometimes,” Aditi had told golfchannel.com before the Olympics.

“My mom’s there, I can ask her anything, but in terms of like golf advice she may not be able to help me as much as my dad. I guess I’m committing to my decisions more and being more decisive on my own,” Aditi had said.

Mom’s advice certainly worked wonders over the four rounds of gold in Tokyo and further cemented an already strong bond.

(IANS)