‘First Will Always Be First’: Pranavi Urs’ Golden Moment in Nagoya

Pranavi Sharath Urs did not even know she had won.

Standing on the 18th fairway at Kasugai Country Club, with an Asian Games gold medal within touching distance, the Indian golfer was too consumed by the moment to know exactly where she stood. It was only when Singapore’s Shannon Tan congratulated her that the reality finally sank in.

“I honestly didn’t know I won until Shannon said well done,” Pranavi said. “I just knew it was either to win or to force a playoff.”

There would be no playoff.

The 23-year-old had held her nerve to become the first Indian woman golfer to win an individual Asian Games gold medal. For Pranavi, the achievement was not merely about winning a medal. It was about making history.

“I think anything that I do for the first time, or at a big stage that no one’s ever done, always motivates me to be the first one to do it,” she said. “You’re always going to have multiple winners, but you’re not going to have the first winner. First will always be first.”

That mentality helped her navigate a final round in which the pressure was impossible to escape.

“I was nervous, obviously. I couldn’t sleep all night,” she admitted.

The nerves were particularly evident on the 18th tee. Pranavi knew she had to carry the water and had changed clubs before the shot, going down one because she knew a six-iron would fly too far.

But the execution was not quite what she had imagined.

“I hit it like ****, so I didn’t know if it was actually going to carry,” she said, laughing. “I felt a little embarrassed and I was like, ‘Oh my God, why are you doing this to yourself?’”

The ball stayed in play, though, and that was what mattered.

“I just had to hit a good second shot,” she said.

In hindsight, she rated the tee shot only a seven out of 10.

“It wasn’t my best, but considering the situation, I think just to keep the ball in play, it was a solid seven.”

The best shot of her day, in her estimation, had come one hole earlier.

The hybrid into the 17th was, she felt, “one of my best shots all week”. It was a difficult number under pressure, but she put herself in position to make a birdie.

“Considering the pressure, the pin position, and it’s not an easy number to kind of get on or even within 15 feet, I’m glad that I did that. It gave myself an opportunity.”

There was another moment when the pressure threatened to take over. A three-putt left her frustrated, but Pranavi reached back into her memory for inspiration.

“I was like, it’s fine,” she recalled. “I remembered what Rory did the first time he won the Masters and he started with a double or triple. And I was like, if he can go and win the Masters, so can you win the Asian Games.”

That thought brought her back into her own game. Three birdies followed.

She had deliberately avoided checking the leaderboard, choosing instead to remain in her own lane.

“I wasn’t checking the scores,” she said. “I was really in my lane today.”

The gold, though, was about more than golf. It was for her parents.

Pranavi’s mother had always dreamed of seeing her daughter represent India and stand on the podium with the national anthem playing. The moment, Pranavi joked, was almost “Bollywood-style”.

“It was always my mum’s dream to have me represent the country and win, and the national anthem and stuff,” Pranavi said. “That was like Bollywood-style mum. She wanted all that.

“I’m glad I could do it in front of them. It was just for them.”

Her family back home had barely slept either. They were connected through a group chat, following every development. Before the final round, Pranavi had sent them one instruction: if she won, record their reaction.

“I said to them, ‘Guys, if I’m winning, please record your reaction when I win. I want to see what it is.’ That was my last message before I teed off.”

She has yet to see the video.

Her brother, himself a club champion, had also been teasing her about his latest trophy.

“He was like, ‘I’ve won, so it’s time you start winning now.’”

Now they have another trophy to celebrate.

The team silver, won alongside Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar, made the week even more special.

“I’m just really honoured and grateful to be part of the team with the girls I looked up to and the girls I’ve played with,” Pranavi said. “Overall, I think it’s a very special moment for me and it’s definitely in my top three.”

But perhaps one of the most significant aspects of her gold was what it could do for Indian golf.

Pranavi had previously spoken about wanting the Indian cricket team to come and watch the golfers. Now, the attention had come to her.

“Funny enough, Yuvraj Singh texted me this morning,” she said. “It’s nice to kind of have that attention, and I think it’s so much deserved attention for the sport.”

For Pranavi, the growing visibility of Indian women’s golf is not simply about her own achievement. She sees it as part of something bigger, with Aditi, Diksha and Avani Prashanth among those pushing the sport forward.

“Every milestone that Aditi, Diksha, Avani and I achieve is a huge step for golf in India,” she said.

The golfer who once wanted India’s biggest sporting stars to come and watch her play has now done something big enough to make them sit up and take notice.

She knows the attention will grow. She knows the gold will bring expectations.

For now, though, she is happy to enjoy it.

“I’ll take it for like five minutes and then get back to work,” she said.

That is Pranavi Urs in a sentence. Even after becoming the first Indian woman to win Asian Games individual golf gold, the next shot is already waiting.

And for her, being the first is only the beginning.

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