Pranavi Urs Takes Asian Games Golf Gold by Single Stroke, Adds Team Silver

Pranavi Urs won India's first women's individual golf gold at the Asian Games on Saturday, holding off two rivals by one stroke after a final round that began with a costly stumble. The 23-year-old from Mysuru also won a silver medal in the women's team event, for a two-medal haul.

Pranavi began the day three strokes clear, but a triple bogey on the third hole quickly erased much of that cushion. She steadied herself with three birdies and kept the pressure on the field. Her finish was the most telling part of the round. She saved par with key putts on the 17th and the 18th, and ended on 15-under 265. China's Yin Ruoning and Singapore's Shannon Tan both finished a shot behind, on 14-under.

The victory is India's first golf gold at the Games since Shiv Kapur won the men's individual title in 2002.

In the team event, Pranavi played alongside Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar, with the best two scores from the three golfers counting each day. India finished on 14-under 546, behind China's winning 22-under 538. Aditi returned a 67 in the final round, while Diksha carded a 77.

The golf medals came on the penultimate day of the Games, which also brought India an archery gold. Seventeen-year-old Kumkum Mohod beat South Korea's Oh Yejin in a shoot-off in the women's individual recurve final. India's tally now stands at 79 medals, including 18 gold, 26 silver and 35 bronze.

The men's trio of Veer Ahlawat, Saptak Talwar and Yuvraj Sandhu will play on the final day of the individual and team stroke play events.