Tokyo 2020: India's Aditi Ashok Misses Women's Golf Bronze Medal by Whisker, Sets Twitter on Fire

In a country where golf is hardly recognised, let alone being popular, a young Indian woman golfer named Aditi Ashok, brought the sport into the limelight after her scintillating show in the final round of the Women's Golf Individual Strokeplay at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.

Immediately after 23-year-old golfing sensation Aditi Ashok narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, Twitter erupted to salute her sensational display in Japan's capital.

While some Indian fans dubbed her inspiring fourth-place finish as "one of the greatest Olympic performances", others doffed their hats to Aditi for her grit, determination, and resolve.

But what actually drew ooh's and aah's from Twitterati was her ability to challenge the very best in the sport, after she went toe-to-toe with World No. 1 and eventual champion Nelly Korda of the United States and former top-ranked player, Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who finished with a silver medal.

This birdie showed us how @aditigolf - the world no. 200 went toe-to-toe with the champions till the last shot and finished fourth. 🙌🙌🙌#Tokyo2020 | #StrongerTogether | #UnitedByEmotion pic.twitter.com/Ga9G6arg3E

— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) August 7, 2021

@aditigolf you did everything you could and put it all out there. There may not be a medal to show but people in India will know the sport we love thanks to your effort and heart. Great performance 👏🏻 Let’s see some public courses and driving ranges please. The kids need it.

— Anirban Lahiri (@anirbangolf) August 7, 2021

Congrats @aditigolf while I know the pain of finishing 4th, what you did the last four days playing against the best in the business is nothing short of spectacular . I am a fan for life .. 👏👏👏 #RuknaNahiHai #olympics

— Mahesh Bhupathi (@Maheshbhupathi) August 7, 2021

Excellent composure & perseverance shown by @aditigolf throughout the last 4 days. Ranked 200th at the start of #Tokyo2020 to finishing fourth at the #Olympics, an absolutely incredible performance!You have made the whole country proud today! I’m a fan for life !

— Abhinav A. Bindra OLY (@Abhinav_Bindra) August 7, 2021

Some fairytales end in heartbreak. One of India's greatest Olympic performances ends up medal-less. Nothing but respect, Aditi Ashok.#IndiaAtTokyo2020 #AditiAshok https://t.co/l6u15I0Z4A

— Archit Karandikar (@KarchitK) August 7, 2021

Wonderful effort Aditi, well done.👏🏻

You missed a medal by a whisker but have managed to do something even bigger; make the nation pause & take note about golf ⛳🏌️‍♂️at the #Olympics!#Tokyo2020 #Golf pic.twitter.com/xWM0bpcbvk

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 7, 2021

Well played @aditigolf! You have shown tremendous skill and resolve during #Tokyo2020. A medal was narrowly missed but you’ve gone farther than any Indian and blazed a trail. Best wishes for your future endeavours.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 7, 2021

Stupendous performance by #AditiAshok.

The Indian audience hardly see or takes interest in ‘Golf’. But your extraordinary performance glued us all to the television.

You showed exemplary calmness.

Thanks for taking Golf to new heights in India. pic.twitter.com/ZKbPun3CSd

— PM Sai Prasad🇮🇳 (@team_sai) August 7, 2021

Such was her performance that it was not just Ashok who was trending on Twitter, but terms like "Bogey", "Birdie", and "Par" which are associated with golf, also gained immense popularity in India due to her heroics at the Kasumigaseki Country Club.

#AditiAshok #Golf Indians first time watching golf be like pic.twitter.com/Q98Zs7Q2vH

— Harshal Lahane (@HarshalLahane1) August 7, 2021

#Golf Indians who don't know the rules of #Golf but after seeing the ranking of #AditiAshok in point table pic.twitter.com/3FwYd33e8w

— Harsh Sharma (@harshsharma3228) August 7, 2021

Aditi's heartbreaking loss came after she began the final day of the event in spectacular fashion, firing five birdies - on the 5th, 6th, 8th, 13th, and 14th holes, to join the American Korda at the top of the leaderboard.

However, she dropped to the fourth spot on the 15th before regaining her place in the top 3 on the 16th.

Then came the upsetting moment for Aditi as players were forced to leave the course due to thunderstorms with only two more holes to play for.

When play resumed approximately an hour later, Aditi had lost her momentum, missing an easy birdie on the 17th hole and then failed to deliver a long birdie putt to end the final round at 3-under 68.

Despite the heartbreak, Aditi's fourth-position finish is a major milestone in her career, considering almost nobody expected her to progress beyond the first round in Tokyo.

Also, it is a major improvement on her performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she ended the competition in 41st place.