Mum or dad for tee? Indian golfer Aditi Ashok has parental choice at Asian Games

NEW DELHI – India medal hope Aditi Ashok has a tough choice to make before teeing up in a star-studded women’s golf field at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Thursday – will it be mum or dad on her bag?

With her effervescent mother Maheshwari – known to everyone as “Mash” – as caddie at the Tokyo Olympics, the 25-year-old did well but finished agonisingly out of the medals in fourth.

“Tokyo 2020 was a great experience, having my mum caddie for me was fun,” Ashok said, before leaving for China.

Mash and dad Gudlamani have taken turns as bag-carrier since the golfer was seven and were there in 2016 when, as a teenager, she first grabbed headlines by winning the Women’s Indian Open.

At 18, she was the youngest player at the Rio Olympics the same year, with her dad doing caddie duties.

Her Tokyo exploits, where she was in silver-medal position for the first three rounds before being edged off the podium by former world No. 1 Lydia Ko, put women’s golf firmly on India’s sporting map.

But Ashok, who plays on the LPGA and Ladies European Tours, did not dwell on her Tokyo disappointment.

“My mindset has always been to focus on the process more than the outcome,” she said. “I always give my best and move on to the next event. And I keep doing the same week after week.”

That mentality has helped her crack the world’s top 50 for the first time in 2023 after earning a fourth European Tour win in Kenya in February.

The golf prodigy first picked up a club aged five in Bengaluru, the southern Indian tech hub where the world No. 47 grew up, and began learning to play at the same time as her parents.

Women’s golf was virtually unknown in India before Ashok’s Olympic achievements, which all began when she was in eighth place after two rounds at the Rio Games before fading to finish 41st.

“I’m happy that golf gets the attention it needs in our country, where cricket is the most dominating sport,” Ashok said.

“Hopefully, this can grow even more now that we have more men and women playing the sport professionally.”

So who will she pick as caddie for the Asian Games? Mum and dad have different styles on the course, she said.

“My dad and I tend to have more discussions about (how to play) a shot as he knows my game well enough to help,” she explained.

“My mum doesn’t help as much with the decision-making (on the course) but I feel that helps, too, as I am more decisive and calmer while playing with her on my bag.” AFP