Young Thai Jazz Janewattananond leads on seven-under-par through 14 holes in the second round of the Panasonic Open India, which has been reduced to 54 holes following fog disruptions during the last two days.
Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka continued his love affair with the Delhi Golf Club after firing one eagle and two birdies against a bogey to trail Jazz by two shots with six holes to play.
India's Shubhankar Sharma is now five-under through 30 holes (18 in first and 12 in second) and two shots behind Jazz.
Meanwhile, when play resumed on day two, the Indian trio of Khalin Joshi, Rashid Khan and Shamim Khan fired opening round scores of five-under-67 on day two to join compatriots Jyoti Randhawa and Mukesh Kumar at the top of the leaderboard.
Khalin Joshi, looking to seal his Asian Tour card with a top finish this week, mixed eight birdies with three bogeys to close round one in pole position.
"I am just very excited right now. I need to play well this week to keep my Asian Tour card and I have put myself in a good position right now. I just need to stay focused. I like this course but I have not played well in this tournament for the past few years. I am feeling good with where I stand. The game's been feeling good. I just need to cap four good rounds," Khalin said.
Inclement weather has caused seven hours of play to be lost in two days at the Delhi Golf Club. With fog delays expected in the next two days, the tournament committee has decided to reduce the tournament to three rounds.
Asian Tour Tournament Director Fritz Katzengruber said: "The tournament has been affected by lengthy delays due to persistent fog throughout the week."
"As a result of the disruptions, we have decided to reduce the tournament to 54 holes. The decision was made in the best interest of the tournament and our Asian Tour members."
The third and final round of the US$400,000 Asian Tour event will be played on Sunday.
Jazz, who returned to sign for an opening 69 on Friday, tamed the weather elements to put himself in prime position for a breakthrough win on the region's premier Tour. He is currently four-under for the round with four holes to play.
"It was really confusing out there. We were trying to finish as much as we can. I just tried to play my best on every hole. I wasn't thinking much. I am happy with where I stand now. I am just going to get some good rest as I have been waking up very early these few days," said the 21-year-old Thai.
"I just got back to playing full time on the Asian Tour recently. I took a few months' break earlier. It's good to be back on Tour. It's good to be playing tournaments again. I am not going to think so far ahead. I just want to focus shot by shot. We will see how it goes," Jazz added.
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