Chiragh Kumar continued to battle flu and yet challenge for top honours as he added a three-under 69 to move into shared second place at the halfway stage of the USD 500,000 Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC) here today.
Only two other Indians, defending champion Gaganjeet Bhullar and Rahil Gangjee made the cut and among those missing it was Anirban Lahiri.
Chiragh, who has been under weather for the past two days and has admittedly avoided practice to conserve energy, played steady and avoided mistakes. Starting on the tenth, he managed four birdied against one sole bogey on the eighth. Chiragh at seven-under 137 is two shots behind leader Thaworn Wiratchant, who roared back into form with a second round card of 67 after shooting 69 on first day.
Chiragh, who has been struggling with a flu since day one, fuelled his ambitions of winning a first Asian Tour title with a solid 69. The Indian was delighted to rediscover some of his best form after struggling with an ankle injury last season.
"I just hope to continue my form. I'm going back to rest now because I don't have any energy to practice. My ankle is alright now but hopefully the pain won't come back," he said.
Bhullar succeeded in bringing himself back into the picture with a round of 69 that somewhat made up for his first round 73 and at two-under 142, he is tied ninth.
Bhullar's bounceback with a 69 for tied ninth gives him a chance to qualify for the WGC-HSBC Champions in China in October if he can remain in the top-two position on the Order of Merit before the cut-off date on October 14.
Rahil Gangjee (70-74) tripped on his second nine, the front side of the course, with three bogeys between second and seventh, but he is still tied 22nd as he was the third Indian to make the cut.
However, Abhinav Lohan (73-76), Himmat Rai (75-74), Anirban Lahiri (72-75) and Ajeetesh Sandhu (75-80) missed the cut.
