Sujjan tied third in Hong Kong Open, Chowrasia, Lahiri 15th

Sujjan Singh, who hurt himself in a freak accident two years ago, continued his comeback with a fine four-under 66 that gave him a share of the third place at the end of the first round in the USD 1.3 million Hong Kong Open here today.
Sujjan was two shots behind Ireland's David Higgins, who posted a six-under-par 64 to grab the first round lead.
Two shots behind Sujjan in tied 15th place are Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chowrasia, who cared 68 each, while Shiv Kapur (69) with two double bogeys in last four holes, was tied 27th.
The rest of the Indian contingent struggled on the first day as Jeev Milkha Singh (71) was tied 63rd, Jyoti Randhawa and Himmat Rai were tied 88th at 72 each and last week's winner in Indonesia, Gaganjeet Bhullar (74) was 105th.

C Muniyappa (77) was 129th in a field of 138.
Sujjan had as many as eight birdies, five of them on back nine, but he also dropped four bogeys, two on either side of the course.

Looking to bounce back from a freak accident, Sujjan said, "I was moving some luggage around my house and I hit my hand into a cupboard. I didn't consider that much would happen, but a few days later I got an X-ray because it was so painful that I couldn't grip the club.
"It took a lot longer than expected to heal. I was not as sharp as before in the few events. But I performed really well in some events back home in India and they have given me some encouragement," added Sujjan, who has won once on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in Indonesia last year.

"I putted well. I think that was the main key. I also made a few great up and downs from the bunkers, and all the way I just kept playing pretty consistently. Over the last few weeks, my game has been improving steadily.