Teenager Avani defended her All India Ladies title in Kolkata
16-year-old Avani Prashanth of Bangalore beat Mannat Brar of Chandigarh 3&2 in the final of the 108th All India Ladies Amateur Championship at Royal Calcutta Golf Club in Kolkata to retain her title.
This win will earn Avani valuable world rankings points which could move her into the top 100 and hopefully will earn her an invitation back to the prestigious Augusta Women’s Amateur in USA, at the home of The Masters.
Last year, Prashanth had beaten Kriti Chowhan of Jaipur 4&2 in the finals at Noida Golf Course to win her first All India Ladies title.
In the semi-final, Prashanth beat Rishika Muralidhar, who is also from Bangalore, by a score of 4&2. Before that, she trumped Vidhatri Urs of Mysore in the quater-finals by 2&1 to advance.
Prashanth was in excellent form heading into the tournament having recently won the 15th Leg on the Hero Pro Tour by a massive 13 strokes at Chandigarh Golf Club.
Prashanth and Chowhan were also part of the six-member Indian team that recently competed at the Asia Pacific Women’s Amateur in Thailand.
A total of 35 amateur girls participated in the 36-hole stroke play qualifier, from which the top 32 advanced to the knockout stage. Prashanth was the top-seeded player in the field, having finished No 1 in the stroke play event, just like she had in 2021.
Next up for Avani is defence of her All India Junior title at KGA.
Credits:-
Photo – Avani Prashanth