"She Was Nervous": Fiance Karandeep Kochhar Reveals What Happened Before Pranavi Urs' Historic Asian Games 2026 Gold

Pranavi Urs; (right) Karandeep Kochhar at NDTV Am Green IGPL Golf Pro-Am© AFP/NDTV

Indian golfer Pranavi Urs etched her name in Indian sporting folklore on Saturday. The 23-year-old from Mysuru became the first Indian woman to win an individual golf gold medal at the Asian Games 2026, while also helping India secure silver in the women's team event. Now a prominent IGPL star, her groundbreaking achievement came at the 2025 IGPL Invitational Mumbai, where she became the first Indian woman to win a professional open-field tournament against male golfers. IGPL is also NDTV's partner for the Golf Pro-Am, a tournament in which Pranavi's fiancé, Karandeep Kochhar, is an active participant.

In an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the NDTV Am Green IGPL Golf Pro-Am Season 2, Kochhar talked about his partner's historic feat.

"I was in such a nerve-wracking situation throughout. I think she was nervous, really. She was really nervous all day and all night, actually last night as well. But it's such a great day. And for her to hold her nerve the way she did, playing against a world-class player..." he said.

"I think she's an incredibly hard-working girl, and I think she understands what her game needs. She knows how much she needs to prepare before a certain event in order to excel at the highest level. So, I think that's what she manages really well. The way she manages her practice sessions, workouts, physiotherapy sessions and even her sessions with her mental coach. The way she manages all that, she's understood the formula, I feel."

"It's a wonderful day for Indian golf, both for the country and for us personally. The past five to six hours were nerve-racking. Pranavi was extremely nervous throughout the day and even through the night, but she showed incredible composure when it mattered most. Today, she… pic.twitter.com/zxaemG6ET7

— NDTV (@ndtv) October 3, 2026

Kochhar then described what sets Pranavi apart.

"She's such a calm person, I would say. And when opportunities like these present themselves, because these chances might come only once in a lifetime, to be leading the Asian Games heading into the final round, the composure she showed after that triple bogey on the third hole was incredible. The way she fought back against the world No. 6 player was just incredible to see. All of us here at NDTV AM Green IGPL are incredibly proud of her. I think the whole country is proud of her," he said.

Pranavi held her nerve in a tightly contested final round to finish with a total of 15-under 265, edging China's Yin Ruoning and Singapore's Shannon Tan by one stroke, according to ESPN.

Pranavi entered the final round with a three-shot overnight lead but faced an early setback after a triple bogey on the third hole. She responded with three birdies and recovered her composure to stay in contention for the gold.

With the pressure mounting on the final two holes, Pranavi produced crucial par putts before finishing the 18th hole with another par to remain at 15-under. Yin and Tan also finished on 14-under, leaving the Indian on top of the leaderboard.

The gold is India's first women's individual golf gold at the Asian Games and the country's first golf gold at the Games since Shiv Kapur's men's individual triumph in 2002.

Pranavi's performance also played a key role in India's silver medal-winning women's team campaign alongside Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar.

India finished the team event at 14-under 546, with the best two scores from the three golfers counting towards the final team total. China won gold after finishing at 22-under 538.

Aditi shot a 67 in the final round, while Diksha carded a 77 as India secured the silver medal behind China.

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