Mithun Perera continues impressive run.
Dipesh Shrestha
He is now one-under 143, five shots behind leader Anura Rohana of Sri Lanka, who fired a round of seven-under 65. Rohana joined fellow Sri Lankan, Mithun Perera on top after the 22-year-old amateur played another steady round following Wednesday’s 68.
But Shiva Ram did not lose faith after today’s round and said, “I am not that far back and if I can shoot a round of four-under or five-under, I should be back in contention.”
Ramesh Nagarkoti also fell back with a round of five-over 77 to slip to joint 11th at two-over 146. But Deepak Thapa Magar improved on his first round of two-over 74 with a 71 to climb to 10th.
Shiva Ram takes lead after second day
Harinder Gupta emerged as the second best professional after returning a card of even-par 72 today. Shamim Khan, the defending champion, crept into contention after carding another round of 71 to move up to two-under for the tournament, four adrift off the leaders. He is tied for third along with Ashok Kumar and Nabin Mondal. Ramesh Kumar shot an impressive 66 to make a big leap to tied-seventh and is now placed alongside Kunal Bhasin and Shiva Ram.
Starting from the 10th, Rohana got his round going after sinking a long putt for eagle on the par-5 11th and followed it up with a birdie on the next hole. Another birdie on the picturesque 16th saw him make the turn at four-under for the day. He added birdies on the first, fourth and seventh to move up to seven-under. He dropped a shot on the eighth but made it up by signing off with a birdie on the par-4 ninth.
“I was just putting really well today and made quite a lot of the tricky ones,” he said. Looking to do one better than last year, he also went on to add, “I wasn’t feeling really well at the start of the week and was in doubt of playing this tournament. Now I am feeling much better and hopefully can go on to win this time around.”
Scores after Day II: 138: Anura Rohana, Mithun Perera; 141 Harinder Gupta; 142: Shamin Khan, Nabin Mondal, Ashok Kumar; 143: Shiva Ram Shrestha, KUnal Bhasin, Ramesh Kumar, Deepak Thapa Magar; 146: Manav Jaini, Ramesh Nagarkoti, Chiraj Kumar
