Gaganjeet Bhullar lifted himself from the pit with a sizzling six-under 66 while Rahil Gangjee was stranded with four more holes to go as darkness dropped early curtains on the second round of the Asian Tour International here on Friday.

Overnight tied fifth, Gangjee was even-par after the 14th hole when play was suspended at the weather-disrupted USD 300,000 event at Pattana Golf and Country Club. He, along with 50 others, will return to complete his second round early Saturday.

The pick of the Indians, however, was Bhullar, who dropped three shots but eagled the second hole and then reeled off six birdies to finish the day on a high, a huge and timely improvement after his poor opening round of 74.

Joining him at tied 39th with a 36-hole aggregate of four-under 140 was compatriot Digvijay Singh who carded a bogey-free four-under 68. Gaurav Ghei (141), who had opened with 68, could not maintain the tempo and returned 73 to barely finish inside the projected cut line. The campaign, meanwhile, is over for Arjun Singh (142), who carded 72 and is set to join Amandeep Johl, Gurbaaz Mann, Firoz Ali and Amandeep Johl in the sidelines.
Leading scores: 133: Lin Wen-tang (TPE); 134: Yasin Ali (ENG), Mardan Mamat (SIN), Juvic Pagunsan (PHI); 135: Piya Swangarunporn (THA), Wisut Artjanawat (THA); 136: Marcus Both (AUS), Will Yanagisawa (USA).

Van Pelt on song
American Bo van Pelt fired a sparkling eight-under-par 64 to take the opening-round lead at the Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande, adds Reuters. Van Pelt led by two shots from compatriots Ted Purdy and Kyle Thompson. Brendan Pappas of South Africa was one of five players tied three strokes off the lead.