Udayan Mane officially qualifies for Tokyo Olympics, joins Anirban Lahiri and Aditi Ashok

Udayan Mane officially qualifies for Tokyo Olympics, joins Anirban Lahiri and Aditi Ashok

The star Indian golfer Udayan Mane finally received the official confirmation of his qualification for the Magnus Opus of sporting events, the Olympics.

The mighty-man Udayan, currently the second-highest ranked Indian in the world at 356, made the cut for his maiden Olympics after Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo announced his withdrawal from the quadrennial event on Thursday, June 24.

Mane was able to secure a spot in the Olympics because of Grillo's withdrawal, as Mane was the first reserve player against him.

The official announcement of Mane’s qualification for the Olympics was made on Tuesday (July 6, 2021) on the International Golf Federation’s (IGF) website, with Mane being placed No. 60 on the Olympic Golf Rankings list (Anirban Lahiri moved up to No. 59).

Two weeks back, PGA Tour regular Anirban Lahiri, the highest-ranked Indian golfer at 340, had become the first Indian male golfer to qualify for Tokyo 2020 following some withdrawals from the list of qualified players.

Lahiri, 34, will be competing in his second consecutive Olympic Games, having previously represented India in the 2016 Rio Olympics alongside SSP Chawrasia.

Aditi Ashok, the lone female golfer representing India, comfortably made the cut for the Olympics after finishing 45th out of 60 golfers who qualified for the prestigious tournament.

The men's Olympic golf competition will take place at Kasumigaseki Country Club from July 29 to August 2, while the women's competition will commence a week later, from August 4 to 7. It will be a four-round 72-hole affair with no cuts for the starters.