Pranavi Urs became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games gold medal in golfholding her nerve after surrendering a three-shot overnight lead to clinch the women’s individual title at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Saturday.
The 23-year-old Indian golfer finished the four-round competition at 15-under 265, one stroke ahead of Singapore’s Shannon Xuan Yin Tan and the People’s Republic of China’s Yin Ruoning, who shared second place at 14-under 266.
Yin Ruoning, a six-time LPGA winner and the 2023 Women’s PGA Championship major champion, won the silver medal after beating Shannon Xuan Yin Tan in the shoot-off.
Pranavi began the final round at the Kasugai Country Club East Course three shots clear but saw that advantage wiped out after a triple bogey on the par-four third. She recovered with a birdie on the sixth and kept her composure over the closing stretch, signing for an even-par 70 to secure a landmark victory.
Shannon Xuan Yin Tan returned a two-under 68 in the final round, while Yin Ruoning mounted a strong charge with a three-under 67. All three contenders made par on the 18th hole.
The triumph ended India’s 24-year wait for an Asian Games golf gold, with Shiv Kapur’s men’s individual title at Busan 2002 having been the country’s previous title.
Before this, Aditi Ashok’s Hangzhou 2023 silver was India’s only golf medal in the women’s individual event at the Games. Pranavi finished fourth in Hangzhou.
It was also India’s fourth gold in golf at the Asian Games. The first titles came at New Delhi 1982 through Lakshman Singh, who also combined with Rishi Narain, Amit Luthra and Rajeev Mohta to secure the men’s team crown.
Pranavi then added a second medal, combining with Olympians Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar for the women’s team silver – India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in the event.
India finished the four rounds at 14-under 546, eight strokes behind champions China, who totalled 22-under 538. Chinese Taipei took bronze at 10-under 550. The best two scores from each round counted towards the team standings.
Aditi Ashok produced her best round of the competition on Saturday, carding a three-under 67 to finish 14th in the individual standings at two-over 282. She managed six birdies in a row on the back nine, which helped India seal the silver in the women’s team event.
Diksha Dagar finished tied 18th at the Asian Games 2026 golf tournament with five-over 285 after four rounds.
In the men’s individual event, Veer Ahlawat and Saptak Talwar were India’s best finishers, sharing sixth place at nine-under 271. Yuvraj Sandhu finished tied 24th at one-over 281. South Korea’s Kim Joohyung won the gold medal with 18-under 262.
Veer, Saptak and Yuvraj also combined for 18-under 542 as India finished sixth in the men’s team event, five strokes off the podium. China won gold at 28-under 532.
Source: www.olympics.com
