Golfer Diksha Dagar gets late call, qualifies for Tokyo Olympics

India's golf challenge at the Tokyo Olympics got a boost with Diksha Dagar being given a late entry into the women's golf competition beginning August 5. Diksha, who was among the reserves when the list was finalised earlier in the month, was conveyed the news by the International Golf Federation through the Indian Golf Union (IGU).

The IGU has since begun making arrangements for Diksha to reach Tokyo in time for the Games. She will join Aditi Ashok in the team. It is the first Olympic appearance for the left-handed Diksha, while Aditi will be playing her second Olympics.

However, Diksha, who was born with a hearing impairment, will now have the unique honour of having represented India at both the Deaf Olympics in 2017, where she finished second for a silver medal. Diksha qualified after South Africa's Paula Reto decided to withdraw and Austria declined to make a reallocation for their golfer Sarah Schober, as per information from the IGU.

Diksha also represented India at the 2018 Asian Games and then turned professional in 2019 and has since won two titles on the Ladies European Tour, one of them a team event. Before the news came in, Diksha was entered and scheduled to play the ISPS Handa Invitational in Ireland.

Meanwhile, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) also has started the formalities for the accreditation and travel. While Diksha herself may not have to face any long quarantine problems, her father, Naren Dagar, her coach who is also often her caddie, had just returned to India.

He will also need to get his formalities done with the IGU and IOA to be able to help Diksha, who was in the list of top-60 when the Olympics were originally slated in July 2020 before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also represented India at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta where she was one of three women golfers from the country.