New Delhi, Sep 19 (PTI) The youngest golfer to represent India at the Asian Games, Avani Prashanth has set her eyes on the coveted gold as she believes she has the game to beat the best in business.

The 16-year-old golfer from Bengaluru made it to the Indian women’s team after topping the Indian Golf Union’s Asian Games 2023 selection trials at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in Kolkata in April.

“I want to go for the gold medal but I want to keep that out of my mind as much as possible,” said Avani on the sidelines of the launch of the inaugural season of the Trinity Golf Champions League.

“If I can play my best golf, I can beat the best in the world, so I want to focus on my ‘A’ game and trying to remove the external pressure.” On being asked who she thinks will be her challenger, Avani, who has been training under coach Laurence Brotheridge since 2018, said: “I know that World No. 1 (China’s Ruoning Yin) is coming, and it would be a good test for me and how I play among the best in the world.” The Amateur teenage golfer hogged the spotlight after she became the first Indian to win the Queen Sirikit Cup in Manila earlier this year. Currently, she is playing at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA).

Avani qualified for the Games along with Pranavi Urs and two-time Olympian Aditi Ashok.

“I have been playing at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) golf course for the last three years. It has been a great learning experience there, I play with the country’s best professionals like Khalin Joshi, K Chikkarangappa and several others.” The Asian Games are scheduled to take place from September 23 to October 8, while golf events will be played from September 28 to October 1.

Source: PTI News