on Saturday became the first Indian woman golfer to win a gold medal in the Asian Games, overcoming the fatigue of a sleepless night to maintain a slender one-stroke lead that also helped the country claim the team silver and round off its best show at the event in 44 years.
The 23-year-old from Mysuru sent in three birdies to recover from a horrendous triple bogey on the third hole, which had wiped away her three-stroke overnight lead.
With a final round score of even-par 70, she ended with a total of 15-under 265 for four days, a stroke ahead of the pack. “I like being the first to do things. People will come along to do more but the first will always be the first,” a jubilant Pranavi said after the historic triumph.
Team take silver
Pranavi’s performance, that included birdies on the 6th, 10th, and 13th holes in the final round, also became a crucial factor in helping India secure team silver with other members being Aditi Ashok (67 in final round) and Diksha Dagar (77 in final round).
Pranavi later admitted that she could not sleep last night and was nervous at the start of the final day. “My boyfriend (golfer Karandeep Kochhar) couldn’t sleep. My cousin Vidhatri couldn’t sleep. They all called me. They’re like, ‘We couldn’t sleep. Could you sleep?’ I was like, ‘Nope’. So none of us slept last night. So yeah, I just can’t wait to get on a video call with them,” she quipped.
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Pranavi Urs is the third Indian to win an individual Asiad medal in golf after Lakshman Singh (1982) and Shiv Kapur (2002)