Who is Diksha Dagar: Five things to know about the Indian golfer

Diksha Dagar made a surprising cut for the women's golf event at Tokyo 2020 after South Africa's Paula Reto withdrew and Austria decided not to send a replacement in form of their golfer Sarah Schober.

The International Golf Federation, thus, reallocated the vacant spot to India's Diksha. She will be making her maiden appearance at the Olympics at Tokyo 2020.

The 20-year-old will be in action in the women's individual golf event at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo from Wednesday. But ahead of that let us know a bit more about the Jhajjar-born golfer.

Born with profound deafness

Diksha and her brother, Yogesh Dagar, are profound deaf. She, however, overcame the challenges of the condition which refers to very hard of hearing and relies mostly on lip-reading or sign language to make a name for herself in the women's golfing circuit.

“The signs were there when she was just a few months old. She was not responding to the sound. We had the same issue in the case of her brother and had a better idea about what needed to be done. Medical technology had also improved in the meantime,” her father told the Indian Express.

Family behind her success

It was her father, colonel Narinder Dagar, a former scratch golfer, who taught her the early ropes of golfing. Her parents always helped her to not take her hearing disability seriously.

Her father Narinder, in fact, was determined to give both his childs a normal life. He thought that sports would help boost her confidence. It is, thus, that her family did not bother much about her academics as she was also proficient in tennis, swimming and athletics.

"If you want to excel in sports, you will have to compromise somewhere. If someone is representing the country, she cannot attend school as regularly as other students," her father told the Indian Express.

Coach Amandeep Johl noticed her talent

Amandeep Johl, who was appointed as the national coach for Indian golf team for 2018 Asian Games, has groomed Diksha's skills. The golfer consults him whenever in need. Johl believes that Diksha is a kind of golfer who understands the conditions really early.

"The best thing about her is that she picks things up very fast and very rarely makes the same mistake twice,” Johl said. "She has an all-round game but needs to improve her mental focus and rhythm.”

Youngest Indian woman to win Ladies European Tour

Diksha became the second Indian woman, after Aditi Ashok, and the youngest to win on a Ladies European Tour (LET) at the South African Open in 2019. She did so at the age of 18.

“I really didn’t expect to win, but it happened and I am very happy. I got two lucky breaks towards the end, with a long birdie putt on 15 and then the chip-in on 16. Normally I would just try to chip it close and make the par putt, but this time I had a feeling I could do it and it went in,” Diksha said after creating history.

The left-handed golfer had also made the country proud, earlier, by clinching a silver medal at the Deaflympics at the age of 16.

Draws inspiration from Novak Djokovic and Tiger Woods

For Diksha, it is all about the winning attitude. It is, thus, that she takes inspiration from two of the greatest sportsmen - Novak Djokovic and Tiger Woods.

"I love his attitude. There are times when he gets so angry when he is playing badly," Diksha told the Times of India, speaking about 20-time grand slam winner Djokovic.

"His (Tiger Wood) attitude is to focus on the game and not to be put off by anyone. He is like a magician," she added.