Saaniya finished with the day's best round of two under 70 to take a two-stroke lead over Delhi golfer Vani Kapoor who is placed second after 18 holes.
The INR 2,50,000 tournament is being played at the Golden Green Golf & Resorts.
Saaniya played a stable round returning with scores of two under 70 after 18 holes. She was a little unstable in her front nine with a single birdie and three bogeys, but she came back strongly in the back nine with four birdies. Her round consisted of five birdies on the 3rd, 11th, 12th, 15th and 17th holes and bogeys on the 2nd, 6th and 8th holes.
Vani's round consisted of four birdies on the 6th, 9th, 11th and 16th holes along with two bogeys on the 1st and 7th holes. Her round also consisted of a double bogey on the 8th Hole.
Rookie Pune golfer ShwetaGalande is placed third with a score of five over 77 after 18 holes. Current Hero Order of Merit 2013 leader and Kolkata Golfer Neha Tripathi had a bad day at office as she finished tied fourth with Pallavi Jain, with identical scores of six over 78 after the first round. The Hero Women's Professional Golf Tour 2013 comprises a total of fourteen legs spanning across key locations in India.