Avani to lead Indian team at Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific golf

Khel Today Bureau 

Pattaya, Thailand: Avani Prashanth, the only Indian woman amateur in the Top-50 of the world, will once again lead the Indian challenge at the prestigious annual Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship in Thailand.

The four-day 72-hole elite event that has unparalleled prizes see a six-member Indian team being sent by the Indian Golf Union. The other Indian players are Mannat Brar, Heena Kang, Vidhatri Urs, Keerthana Rajeev Nair and Saanvi Somu. Former National champion Vandana Agarwal will be the manager of the team.

The event which will see golfers from 22 countries will be held at the Waterside Course at Siam Country Club (SCC) in Pattaya, Thailand from February 1-4.

The winner of the elite amateur tournament will get some life-changing opportunities. The WAAP champions receive exemptions into three major championships in 2024 – the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews, the Amundi Evian Championship in France and the Chevron Championship in the United States of America.

The winner will also receive invitations to a few other elite championships such as the Hana Financial Group Championship, ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, The 121st Women’s Amateur Championship and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Avani is winner of the Queen Sirikit Cup individual honours in 2023, and was also fourth at the individuals in 2023 World Amateur Team Championships. She also won a pro event in Europe and finished in Top-10 in numerous professional events on the Ladies European Tour including the Hero Women’s Indian Open.

She was also runner-up at the Australian Masters of Amateurs earlier this month in Melbourne.

Her main teen rivals will include Japan’s Mamika Shinchi, Filipina Rianne Mikhaela Malixi and New Zealander Eunseo Choi. Shinchi (33), Prashanth (42) and Malixi (43) are among the top ranked players in the field.

In the first five editions of the WAAP, players from Thailand (Atthaya Thitikul and Eila Galitsky), Japan (Yuka Yasuda and Mizuki Hashimoto) and Chinese Taipei (Ting-hsuan Huang) have held aloft the sought-after trophy.