Deafness Doesn’t Define Dagar

Words: Jimmy Emanuel  

Golf at every level is packed with remarkable stories of people overcoming obstacles and challenges to simply play the sport—and, in some cases, succeed at the highest level. 

India’s Diksha Dagar is certainly one such case, even if the 24-year-old Indian slightly downplays what she has achieved in a short professional career that began when she joined the play-for-pay ranks in 2019 at age 18. 

First, Dagar is left-handed, which, in the modern golfing world of Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, and Brian Harman winning men’s majors, may not seem that unique. However, in women’s golf, playing from the “wrong” side of the ball is rarer than an albatross. 

Case in point: only one left-handed player has ever won on the LPGA Tour - Bonnie Bryant’s lone triumph for lefties came more than 50 years ago in 1974. 

Adding to Dagar’s impressive development is her rise to the world stage from India, with Aditi Ashok, just three years her senior, being the country’s most notable female golfer. Men’s professional golfers from India—a country with fewer than 200 courses for more than 1.4 billion people—are a slightly more common occurrence. 

Most remarkably, though, Dagar’s journey to becoming a two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour (LET) has unfolded despite being deaf. 

Born into a military family, Dagar began wearing hearing aids around age six, when she also started her golfing journey alongside her brother, Yogesh, who is profoundly deaf. 

Conducting interviews through sound and reading lips, Dagar is well-versed in explaining how her hearing loss has impacted her golf and her response offers a glimpse into the determined spirit that has overcome all obstacles. 

"When I was younger, I used to face challenges in hearing," Dagar says. 

"Now, as I’m growing up and traveling around the world, I’m getting used to it. I'm learning more… and then you get better." 

Born into a military family, Dagar began wearing hearing aids around age six, when she also started her golfing journey alongside her brother, Yogesh, who is profoundly deaf. 

"Sometimes, in strong wind, I find it difficult because the sound travels." 

Speaking to Women’s Golf Magazine during the Ford Women’s NSW Open, one of three co-sanctioned events between the LET and WPGA Tour of Australasia, Dagar expressed her fondness for the beauty and golf courses of Australia. 

One of the challenges she faced in childhood—finding left-handed clubs—has been another notable benefit of the two-time Olympian’s regular visits Down Under. 

"It's unique," she says of being left-handed. 

"Some people say left-handers are more creative than right-handers." 

"When I got here in Australia, I found my left-hand putter. They have so many options… And when I purchased the putter and played in Australia with that, and later in South Africa, I happened to win - because I found a lucky putter in Australia." 

The victory in South Africa Dagar refers to was her first as a professional, coming at the 2019 Investec South African Women's Open, just months after joining the pro ranks.