The Bangalore duo of C Muniyappa and M Dharma are in tied second along with Delhi's Shamim Khan, Mandeo Singh Pathania of Greater Noida and Meerut's Amardip Sinh Malik at four-under 68 here.
Abhinav's first round 66 was punctuated by seven birdies and a lone bogey. He had four more birdies on the eighth, 10th, 11th and 15th. His second shot on the 11th stopped four feet from the hole.
Lohan, a silver-medallist from the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, thus equalled the course record of six-under-66, set by Shamim Khan in 2008.
"I got off to a terrific start by converting a couple of long birdie putts on the second and third holes. I didn't expect to make birdies on those two occasions but the putts rolled in and that got me going for the rest of the round. All aspects of my game were in top shape today. The wind was a factor but it wasn't there throughout the day," he said.
"I have some good memories of the Coimbatore Golf Club since I recorded my first top-3 finish as a junior over here. I'm confident of doing well this week as well."
Former Indian Open champion Muniyappa, who returned from a 16-month injury lay-off in April this year, fired a 68 that featured an eagle, three birdies and a bogey.
M Dharma posted an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys to join Muniyappa in joint second place.
Shamim Khan, Amardip Sinh Malik and Mandeo Singh Pathania were the other three golfers who also shot scores of 68 to be tied second. Pathania's bogey-free round was his best effort of the season.
Kolkata's Feroz Ali Mollah and Lucknow golfer Vijay Kumar were tied seventh at three-under-69.
