Having finished fourth in women's individual stroke play golf at the Tokyo Olympics, Aditi Ashok spoke exclusively to NDTV about her remarkable performance and said that despite narrowly missing out on a medal, her 15-under 269 showing would give her a lot confidence going forward. The Indian golfer also expressed happiness at being able to share the Olympic experience with her mother Mash Ashok, who accompanied her to Tokyo as her caddie. "That was great. When I had my dad caddie at the last Olympics, I knew I wanted my mom to be a part of it and get that whole Olympic experience, whether it's at the village of being there at the competition," the 23-year-old told NDTV.
"With COVID, I was pretty sure her being my caddie was the only way I could get her here for sure. I did have her all week and I finished fourth. I was in contention the whole time, so she has had a good week too on the bag and I am happy that I got to share it with her," Ashok added.
Talking about her performance this week, she said, "It was a good week, I played well on all four days and I was in the top three in the first three days.
"I had no expectations coming here but obviously, everyone comes to win a medal. So being in that position the whole time was really good for my game and my confidence. Unfortunately, I did not win a medal but it's still been a great week."
Ashok expressed her gratitude to her fellow Indians for the support she received over the last four days. She said: "Golf isn't popular in India so just by me doing well here, if more people have watched and want to learn about golf, it's obviously a great thing. Thanks to the whole country for all the support I have felt in the last few days."
The Arjuna Award-winning golfer revealed that she is still recovering her strength after contracting Covid in May. "I had Covid in May when I came back from the US to India. I actually came back for a visa but then my passport got stuck in the consulate for an extra week, so then I had to stay back in India and then I tested positive.
"So it was two more weeks of lockdown. When I fell sick, it wasn't too bad but now coming back and playing and walking on the course, it feels a lot more draining than it was when I had it. So I can tell how much strength I have lost compared to my usual strength-level in golf. Hopefully, I can recover my strength in the next few months," she said.