Pranavi Urs becomes first Indian woman to win Asian Games individual golf gold
Pranavi Urs became the first Indian woman to win an individual golf gold at the Asian Games on October 3, 2026, at Kasugai Country Club, finishing 15-under 265 to beat China's Yin Ruoning by one shot.
"I like being the first to do things. People will come along to do more but the first will always be the first." And Pranavi Urs' name was right up the leaderboard as she created history with the victory.
The 23-year-old from Mysore opened the tournament with a 66 and followed that with a 63 to reach 11-under after 36 holes, then posted another 66 on Friday to move to 15-under and carry a three-shot lead into the final round. That advantage evaporated early on Saturday when she dropped three shots at the third, but she recovered to complete her tournament at 15-under 265.
China's Yin Ruoning, a six-time LPGA winner, shot a final-round 67 to finish 14-under 266, while Singapore's Shannon Tan also ended on 266 after a 68 and went on to win a playoff for the bronze medal.
Pranavi carded a 70 in the final round, birdieing the sixth, 10th and 13th holes; Yin picked up birdies on the second and fourth. The 13th proved decisive when Pranavi's putt circled the rim before dropping to put her back in front at 15-under, and she then closed the round with five consecutive pars.
Her individual gold contributed to India securing the silver medal in the women's team event alongside Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar, with a combined team score of 546 behind China's 538 and ahead of Chinese Taipei on 560. Aditi shot a 67 in the final round, which included six consecutive birdies on the back nine, to finish 14th individually; Diksha finished tied 23rd after a 77.
"My boyfriend (golfer Karandeep Kochhar) couldn't sleep. My cousin sister 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," said Pranavi to PTI.
"I honestly didn't know I won until Shannon said, 'Well done'. So yeah, I mean, I just knew it was either a putt to win or it was a putt to force a playoff, and all I wanted to do was obviously hole the putt. I'm glad I could do it. After my first putt, I said to myself, 'Why did you leave it three feet short?' But it's fine," Pranavi said with a laugh.
Pranavi said she drew inspiration from comebacks by Rory McIlroy and Nelly Korda as she regained control after the early setback, and before teammates celebrated by drenching her she took a moment to absorb the achievement.
The gold ended a 24-year wait for India to win an individual golf gold at the Asian Games — Shiv Kapur won the men's individual title in 2002 and Lakshman Singh claimed men's individual gold in 1982 — and the triumph comes as Pranavi continues her career on the Ladies European Tour, where she is still chasing her maiden title.
