Paris: Having already bounced out of medal contention following a horrendous penultimate round, it was just about restoring a semblance of pride for the Indian duo of Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar on the concluding day of the golf competition of the Paris Olympics here on Saturday.
While Aditi managed to do that, reserving her best for the last by firing a four-under 68 to sign off at two-over 290 and a share of the 29th place, Diksha’s woes continued at the Le Golf National on the outskirts of the city, scoring a six-over 78 to end tied 49th on another baking day.
Former World No. 1 and favourite Lydia Ko of New Zealand withstood a stirring late charge from Esther Hanseleit of Germany to bag the much-coveted Olympic gold after scoring a final round one-under 71 (278) for a two-shot win. China’s Janet Lin Xiyu took home a bronze after carding 69 for a total of 281, one behind silver winner.
The 27-year-old Ko, who was born in Seoul, South Korea but gained New Zealand citizenship at the age of 12 following her family’s emigration, was cruising to the title when she took the turn at two-under and held a massive five-shot lead with six holes to spare. But disaster struck on the 13th after she hit her iron shot on the par-four 13th into the water for a double-bogey.
This gave Hanseleit a hope from nowhere and she made the most out of it, nailing three birdies on the closing nine holes. Ko, the youngest player to win two majors, conjured all her big-match to hold firm and sink a crucial birdie on the closing 18th to make up for the heart-break in Tokyo three years ago when she finished second (silver) behind gold medal winner Park In-bee.
The 26-year-old Aditi, who rose to national prominence in Tokyo when she finished an agonising fourth after being in bronze position for a long time, made a horrendous start to the final round after bogeying the opening hole. A gritty customer who has broken several ceilings with regards to golf back home, the Bengalurean bounced back with back to back birdies right after.
She bogeyed the sixth but finished the opening nine with a birdie on 9th. The fluctuating fortunes continued in the inward journey too as she bogeyed the 12th but Aditi finished off her trip to City of Love in a blaze, nailing four consecutive birdies from the 13th hole.