Tokyo: South Korea's Park In-Bee is feeling relaxed and confident ahead of her title defence at the Tokyo 2020 women's golf competition which begins at Kasumigaseki Country Club tomorrow.
The 33-year-old Park struck gold for her country in Rio 2016 when golf made a return to the Games following a 112-year lapse and she did so under intense pressure and scrutiny due to a lingering thumb injury and representing a golf-crazed nation.
"I mean, 2016 was far most pressure-filled I've ever felt in my life. I don't know if I could do that again. If I felt it again this year, I don't think I would be able to play. It is definitely much better and much more relaxing this year because of my condition. In 2016 I had to deal with the injury, I had to deal with a lot of pressure, but this year is a bit different," said the 21-time LPGA Tour winner.
"It's once in a four-year opportunity and I did want to play well and I didn't want to withdraw. I was just trying really hard to fight the injury, but obviously a lot of people got worried. My family, my staff and probably the whole of Korea was probably worried that I am not in the best condition.
"I've been in a lot of situations where I felt a lot of pressure, but that kind of feel gave me a power to overcome a lot of the stuff and being able to win gold was amazing."
Park will tee up in the opening two rounds alongside silver medallist Lydia Ko of New Zealand and China's Shanshan Feng, who won bronze in Rio, tomorrow in one of the marquee groups.
World No.1 and Women's PGA Championship winner Nelly Korda of the United States, world No.2 Ko Jin-Young of South Korea and world No.11 Nasa Hataoka of host country Japan will also attract plenty of attention when they begin their Olympic campaigns.
ANA Inspiration winner Patty Tavatanakit and 12-time LPGA champion Ariya Jutanugarn are also in the 60-player field.
The bubbly Park, currently ranked third in the world, is strongly tipped to challenge for gold again as she has been in stellar form this season.
Ko Jin-Young, an eight-time LPGA winner, remembers watching Park win the gold medal for South Korea and started dreaming of Tokyo 2020.
"I was watching TV and then she got a gold medal and I was thinking, I really want to play in the Olympics in 2020. This week is like my dream. I'm really proud to be on the same team with In-Bee," said Ko, who has one win and five top-10s this season.
China's Feng, a 10-time winner on the LPGA Tour, said winning the bronze medal in Rio was a major career highlight and it would push her on to challenge for another podium finish in Tokyo, especially when she thinks this could be her last Olympics appearance.
"I would say a medal at the Olympics is very special because even though I've been a major winner, but like think about it, we have five majors every year, we have in four years we have 20 chances to win a major. So I would say it's much harder to get a medal at the Olympics. So it was the most important or memorised moment in my career," said the 31-year-old Chinese star, who has won a major.
She intends to use her vast experience and success at the highest level of the women's game to her benefit in what is expected to be a stern test at Kasumigaseki's East course.
She has three top-five finishes from eight starts this year, indicating her game is very much capable of getting her back onto the podium.
"I'm not as nervous as last time, for sure. I was really nervous on that first tee [at Rio 2016] and it was like I didn't remember anything," said Feng.