Pranavi Urs produced the round of the day in the women’s golf competition at the Asian Games 2026, firing a spectacular seven-under-par 63 to surge into sole second place and put herself firmly in the hunt for the gold medal at Kasugai Country Club.
Related: Pranavi Urs powers Indian women’s strong start
The Indian golfer, who opened with a four-under 66 on Wednesday, now stands at 11-under-par 129 after 36 holes, just two shots behind Singapore’s Shannon Tan, who retained the individual lead at 13-under.
Pranavi’s superb effort brought the women’s team into the medal position. India moved to third place at seven-under-par 273, behind leaders China and Singapore, with two rounds still remaining.
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The timing of her surge is also noteworthy. With the Hero Women’s Indian Open coming up in few weeks, Pranavi sees her Asian Games challenge as an opportunity to build momentum.
It was a round of remarkable consistency from Pranavi, who never appeared to be in trouble as she combined precise driving, confident approach play and timely putting. She picked up four birdies in her first six holes and then added three more birdies between the 13th and 16th to complete a bogey-free 63.
The first birdie, a 20-footer, immediately set the tone. She had four birdies in first six holes and three more in a four-hole run on the back nine.
“The game was pretty solid from tee-to-green. Didn’t really have any bad shots. A very good, solid round, and that was that,” Pranavi said after her round.
She found fairways, played her irons well and attacked the pins. “I put myself in good positions off the tee, which gave me good numbers to hit the approach shots. Some of the shots that I got, I was really comfortable with those numbers, and I stuck it in to five feet,” she said. “Just hitting fairways and greens, that’s always been my game plan.”
Pranavi’s 63 was all the more significant because her Indian teammates had a difficult second day. Diksha Dagar slipped to tied 21st at four-over, while Aditi Ashok was tied 25th at five-over.
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With the team competition calculated from the combined scores of the players, Pranavi’s low round became the driving force behind India’s climb to third.
For Pranavi, however, the individual opportunity is just as significant.
The 26-year-old will begin the third round on Friday in the final groups, knowing that she is only two strokes from the top. It will be her first appearance in the final group at an Asian Games, but the prospect of playing under pressure does not appear to faze her.
“Always good to be in contention. Unfortunately, there haven’t been a lot of times where I’ve been in contention on Tour. So to kind of get that momentum going towards the Indian Open in a couple weeks is a good sign,” she said.
Yet she was not looking beyond the next 18 holes. “I mean, I’m not thinking about anything as of now, I’m just thinking about tomorrow’s round.”
That focus will be important as Tan remains the player to catch.
