Bhubaneswar: Kashika Misra has created history by becoming the first Odia girl to win any IGU (Indian Golf Union) Championship.
The 17-year-old secured the first position in all categories – A (15 -18 years) and open category (senior amateur) – at the IGU Northern India Ladies and Junior Girls Championship held at JP Greens from November 18-21.
Around nine IGU tournaments are held in a year through which national ranking of the players is decided. She displayed nerves of steel to steer from fifth position on Day 1 to be the winner on the third and final day with a stunning score of 11 under par. She also got a formidable lead of 4 strokes over the runner-up Mannat Brar.
Kashika secured a WAGR (World Amateur Golf Ranking) at the age of 16 in May 2023. She has represented Odisha in the National Games in November 2023 and has also been part of Team India in events in Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia. She has broken into India Top 10 amateur and is inching closer to India Top 5 amateur after earning 50 points from her win in this tournament.
While Kashika’s home club is the Delhi Golf Club, she is also a member of Bhubaneswar Golf Club.
Kashika thanked her coaches, Bhubaneswar Golf Club, Odisha government and the people of the state for their assistance. “It was all possible due to the blessings of Lord Jagannath and her parents,” she added.
She is the daughter of Brigadier TK Misra and Kiran, who hail from Dharakot in Ganjam district. Her talent in golf was spotted in 2019, when she started practicing full time at the age of 12, while her father was posted at Delhi. Her father, a keen golfer himself, noticed the latent talent in her and started taking her to the Golf Course. Her father was the first coach.