<p>Cashing in on his knowledge of his home course, the 17-year-old fired a scorching six-under 66 as India (220) lay second, three strokes adrift of Thailand in the boys’ category, on a sun-baked day at the Eagleton Golf Resort. <br /><br />Among girls, Chinese Taipei (143) opened up a narrow one-shot lead over Singapore, while Gurbani Singh and Shreya Ghei kept India (149) in the hunt at third.<br /><br />India’s hopes of a maiden Janya Cup rested largely on Chikkarangappa and Saini. While Saini struggled with his putting, Chikkarangappa produced a blemish-free round that steered him to pole position in the individual category.<br /><br />Just a little off colour with his driving on a few holes, the wily Chikkarangappa more than made up with his putting. A 10th tee starter, he took the turn at four-under that including eight-foot and 12-foot birdie putts on the 16th and 18th.<br /><br />A poor tee shot on the fourth landed the ball close to a water body but a brilliant chip-out and an ensuing 13-foot putt gave Chikkarangappa probably his best birdie of the day. <br />While Saini carded 71, an unwell Honey Biasoya and Manu Gandas had 81 and 84 respectively.<br /><br />Leading scores (India unless mentioned): Team championship: 217: Thailand; 220: India; 221: Chinese Taipei; 232: Philippines; 246: Hong Kong.<br /><br />Girls: 143: Chinese Taipei; 144: Singapore; 149: India; 150: Thailand; 156: Malaysia.<br /><br />Individual championship: Boys: Category A&B: 66: S Chikkarangappa; 68: Poom Saksansin (Tha); 69: Teng Kao (Chn Tpe); 70: Wei-Hou Liu (Chn Tpe); 71: Trishul Chinnappa, Jobim Antonio Carlos (Phi), Mohd Azman Basharudin (Mal).<br /><br />Category B: 74: Sung-I Yu (Chn Tpe); 75: Nattawat Suvajanakorn (Tha); 77: Shubhankar Sharma, Pariwat Pinsawat (Tha), Ambrose Tam (HK).<br /><br />Category C: 72: Piyush Sangwan; 75: Pawat Kongkanjana (Tha); 76: Viraj Madappa; 77: Feroz Garewal; 78: Prakhar Asawa.<br /><br />Category D: 71: Puwit Anupansuebsai (Tha), 82: Karandeep Kochar; 84: Kshitij Kaul; 91: Aadil Bedi; 92: Pratheek Nagaprasad.<br /><br />Girls: Category A: 70: Jo-Ee Kok (Sin); 71: Wei-Ling Hsu (Chn Tpe); 72: Hsuan-Yu Yao (Chn Tpe); 73: Princess Mary Superal (Phi); 74: Shreya Ghei (Ind), Joey Poh (Sin).<br /><br />Category B: 73: Princess Mary Superal (Phi); 75: Pinrath Loomboonruang (Tha); 76: Mimi Ho (HK); 81: Isabella Leung (HK), Ssu-Chia Cheng (Chn Tpe). Category C: 75: Benyapa Niphatsophon (Tha); 80: Aditi Ashok; 88: Amrita Anand; 89: Ridhima Dilawari. Category D: 87: Chakansim Khamborn (Tha); 101: Tanirika Singh; 104: Karishma Dutt, Shruthi Shenoy.</p>
<p>Cashing in on his knowledge of his home course, the 17-year-old fired a scorching six-under 66 as India (220) lay second, three strokes adrift of Thailand in the boys’ category, on a sun-baked day at the Eagleton Golf Resort. <br /><br />Among girls, Chinese Taipei (143) opened up a narrow one-shot lead over Singapore, while Gurbani Singh and Shreya Ghei kept India (149) in the hunt at third.<br /><br />India’s hopes of a maiden Janya Cup rested largely on Chikkarangappa and Saini. While Saini struggled with his putting, Chikkarangappa produced a blemish-free round that steered him to pole position in the individual category.<br /><br />Just a little off colour with his driving on a few holes, the wily Chikkarangappa more than made up with his putting. A 10th tee starter, he took the turn at four-under that including eight-foot and 12-foot birdie putts on the 16th and 18th.<br /><br />A poor tee shot on the fourth landed the ball close to a water body but a brilliant chip-out and an ensuing 13-foot putt gave Chikkarangappa probably his best birdie of the day. <br />While Saini carded 71, an unwell Honey Biasoya and Manu Gandas had 81 and 84 respectively.<br /><br />Leading scores (India unless mentioned): Team championship: 217: Thailand; 220: India; 221: Chinese Taipei; 232: Philippines; 246: Hong Kong.<br /><br />Girls: 143: Chinese Taipei; 144: Singapore; 149: India; 150: Thailand; 156: Malaysia.<br /><br />Individual championship: Boys: Category A&B: 66: S Chikkarangappa; 68: Poom Saksansin (Tha); 69: Teng Kao (Chn Tpe); 70: Wei-Hou Liu (Chn Tpe); 71: Trishul Chinnappa, Jobim Antonio Carlos (Phi), Mohd Azman Basharudin (Mal).<br /><br />Category B: 74: Sung-I Yu (Chn Tpe); 75: Nattawat Suvajanakorn (Tha); 77: Shubhankar Sharma, Pariwat Pinsawat (Tha), Ambrose Tam (HK).<br /><br />Category C: 72: Piyush Sangwan; 75: Pawat Kongkanjana (Tha); 76: Viraj Madappa; 77: Feroz Garewal; 78: Prakhar Asawa.<br /><br />Category D: 71: Puwit Anupansuebsai (Tha), 82: Karandeep Kochar; 84: Kshitij Kaul; 91: Aadil Bedi; 92: Pratheek Nagaprasad.<br /><br />Girls: Category A: 70: Jo-Ee Kok (Sin); 71: Wei-Ling Hsu (Chn Tpe); 72: Hsuan-Yu Yao (Chn Tpe); 73: Princess Mary Superal (Phi); 74: Shreya Ghei (Ind), Joey Poh (Sin).<br /><br />Category B: 73: Princess Mary Superal (Phi); 75: Pinrath Loomboonruang (Tha); 76: Mimi Ho (HK); 81: Isabella Leung (HK), Ssu-Chia Cheng (Chn Tpe). Category C: 75: Benyapa Niphatsophon (Tha); 80: Aditi Ashok; 88: Amrita Anand; 89: Ridhima Dilawari. Category D: 87: Chakansim Khamborn (Tha); 101: Tanirika Singh; 104: Karishma Dutt, Shruthi Shenoy.</p>