By Vipul Kashyap

New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): India's former World Cup-winning cricketer and current Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) president Kapil Dev spoke on the selection of the Indian squad for the upcoming Asian Games in Japan, highlighting how the merit earned through points and rankings plays a bigger role than selectors and their desires.

Olympians Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar will lead India's golf contingent at the Asian Games 2026, set to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, as per Olympics.com on Sunday. The six-member squad comprises three men and three women, with selections made based on world rankings.

Speaking to ANI, Kapil said about golf and team selection for the Asian Games that a lot of work needs to be done despite the sport witnessing some fine growth over the last two or three years.

'Golf has grown a lot in the last two-three years. But I still need to work hard on it. When our boys play in the Olympics, they are happy. The best thing is that the team picks are based on the ranking,' he said to ANI.

'How many points did they earn in a year? It's not like the selector picks one or the other. There is no interference. It's just about the points. The team automatically selects the best points,' he added.

He also pointed out that golfers play golf for 30-35 weeks every year and have a schedule similar to cricket.

'They have a lot of tours. They play tournaments all over India. We are talking about medals. There are Asian Games and the Olympics. There are preparations for that,' he added.

The golf events at the Asian Games 2026 will be contested from September 30 to October 3 at the Kasugai Country Club East Course, featuring four medal events: men's and women's individual and team competitions.

Aditi Ashok, a five-time Ladies European Tour (LET) winner and three-time Olympian, narrowly missed a podium finish at Tokyo 2020, finishing fourth. She also secured India's first-ever women's golf medal at the Asian Games with a silver at Hangzhou 2023.

Diksha Dagar, a two-time Olympian and Deaflympics champion, returns to the continental stage after finishing 22nd at Jakarta 2018 and boasts two LET titles. Pranavi Urs represented India at the last Asian Games, finishing 13th in the women's field. Yuvraj Sandhu enters the tournament on the back of a dominant 2025 season on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), claiming a record seven titles.

India has a total of seven golf medals at the Asian Games, including three gold and four silver. The country's first gold medals came at the 1982 New Delhi Games, with Lakshman Singh winning the men's individual crown and the team securing gold. Shiv Kapur added individual gold at Busan 2002, while the men's teams finished with silver at Doha 2006 and Guangzhou 2010. Aditi Ashok claimed the latest medal at Hangzhou 2023.

Asian Games 2026: India golf squad Men: Yuvraj Sandhu, Veer Ahlawat, Saptak Talwar. Women: Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar, Pranavi Urs. (ANI)