Taipei A at one-stroke lead against India A

Kolkata: Sun I Yu shot a superb 3-under par 69 to lead Chinese Taipei A into a slender one-stroke lead against India A at the end of the first round of Asia Pacific Junior Golf Championship at RCGC here on thursday.

Sun Yu along with team-mate Chun An Yu who shot a 76 posted a team total of 145, while hosts India A were placed just a stroke behind with Manu Gandas and Viraj Madappa shooting an identical score of 1-over par 73 for a team total of 146. With the players breathing in each other`s neck, an exciting finish is on the cards. Thailand B team comprising Suradit Yongcharoenchai and Ekthumrong Luanganuruk were in third place at 152 while the Indian B team of Karandeep Kochhar and Arjun Prasad and the Thailand A team which included Thanakorn Torsee and Natchapon Eaksen were tied for the fourth place at 153. Viraj and Manu were four shots behind the leader Sun Yu to be tied second in the individual category. Chang-Heng Lin of Chinese Taipei and Suradit were tied for the fourth place at 74 while as many as three players -- Thanakorn Torsee (Thailand) and the Indian duo of Karandeep Kochhar, Feroz Singh Garewal were all tied for the sixth position at 75. Coming after a two months break because of a bad form, Sun Yu who is one of the best players from Chinese Taipei shrugged off the rusty form and the notions about Indian weather and food as he went about the business in the right earnest. With a lone birdie on the par-5 fourth on his front nine, Yu was just happy not to commit any mistakes. On the back nine, with two consecutive birdies on the 15th and 16th, Yun returned home safe and dry. Although Viraj made four birdies in his round, he also made five mistakes while Manu made three birdies against four bogeys. Leaderboard (after 18 holes) Individual: 69 Sung I Yu (Tpe); 73 Manu Gandas (Ind); Viraj Madappa (Ind); 74 Chang-Heng Lin (Tpe), Suradit Yongcharoenchai (Tha); 75 Thanakorn Torsee (Tha), Karandeep Kochhar (Ind), Feroz Singh Garewal (Ind); 76 Chun An Yu (Tpe); 78 Mohan Sardar (Ind), Arjun Prasad (Ind), Ekthumrong Luanganuruk (Tha), Natchapon Eaksen (Tha). Team: 145 Chinese Taipei A (Sung I Yu, Chun An Yu); 146 India A (Manu Gandas, Viraj Madappa); 152 Thailand B (Suradit Yongcharoenchai, Ekthumrong Luanganuruk); 153 India B (Karandeep Kochhar, Arjun Prasad), Thailand A (Thanakorn Torsee, Natchapon Eaksen); 158 Chinese Taipei (Shu-Ya Huang, Chang-Heng Lin).