Ashok Kumar, who started off in a blaze of glory going to six-under after seven holes, fell back on the back-nine and was tied for third spot along with Harinder Gupta and Ramesh Nagarkoti. The three of them finished with a total of three-under 69.
Nagarkoti, is fifth on the order of merit list on the Surya Nepal Golf Tour and is still searching for his first win on tour
Defending champion Shamim Khan could not reproduce the magic of last year as he finished the round tied for sixth at one-under 71.
Shiva Ram Shrestha hits a shot.
Dipesh Shrestha
Shiva Ram takes lead in Surya Nepal Central Open
Shiva Ram, who won five tournaments last year on the Surya Nepal Golf Tour, got off to a sedate start but after seeing his playing partner Ashok Kumar taking apart the course, he too got into the action. A 15-footer for birdie on the eighth saw him make the turn at two-under.
He attacked the front pin on the par-3 tenth and was left with a short putt for birdie, which he went on to convert to move up to three-under. A minor lapse in concentration led to him making bogey on the next hole but he bounced back with a birdie on the next hole.
A birdie on the final hole meant that he returned a card of 68 to take a share of the lead. “I did not try to blast my tee shots and tried to keep it in control. That is why I found the right spots on the fairway and if I had putted well, I could have finished even better,” the big-hitting youngster said.
Sri Lankan amateur, Perera sprung a surprise. “My shots off the tee were great today and I did not miss a single fairway,” he said.
With ten players within four shots of the lead, the tournament is wide open.
Scores after Day I: 68: Shiva Ram Shrestha, Mithun Perera; 69: Ashok Kumar, Ramesh Nagarkoti, Harinder Gupta; 71: Shamim Khan, Joseph Chakola, Kunal Bhasin, Yusuf Ali; 72: Nabin Mondal; 73: Rajiv Niranjan Datar, Deepak Acharya, Anura Rohana & Deepak Neupane
