Rashid, Bajaj move ahead at Eastern India Amateur

Rashid Khan and Rahul Bajaj stayed on course for a showdown with both of them winning their quarter-final ties at the LG Goodricke Eastern India Amateur Golf Championship at the par-72 Royal Calcutta Golf Club.

Kolkata: Rashid Khan and Rahul Bajaj stayed on course for a final-round showdown with both of them winning their quarter-final ties at the LG Goodricke Eastern India Amateur Golf Championship at the par-72 Royal Calcutta Golf Club.

Rashid won his tie against Karan Vasudeva 4 and 2, while Rahul Bajaj defeated Pawan Kumar 4 and 3. In the showdown between the Kolkata boys, Samaresh Sardar emerged victorious over Mohd. Sanjib to set up a semifinal clash against Rashid while Raja Sardar prevailed over SK Pappu to progress to the last four stage.Earlier in the day, it looked like an upset was on the cards as Karan Vasudeva, still seeking his maiden win on the LG Amateur Tour, dominated the early stages of the match against Rashid. The lower-ranked Vasudeva went three up after just eight holes and seemed in control close to the halfway stage. But from that point on, the match turned dramatically on its head as Vasudeva made three straight bogeys to bring the score back to all-square after 11 holes.Rashid made his first birdie on the par-four 12th hole, but Vasudeva too made a birdie on the same hole and avoided losing further ground. Rashid then birdied the difficult par-three 13th hole to go ahead for the first time in the match. Vasudeva made bogeys on the 14th and 15th, and was three down before Rashid closed the deal with a birdie on the 16th to win the match. PTI