<p>Khalin Joshi carded a superb eight-under 64 to join Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman at the top of the leaderboard in the penultimate round of the USD 400,000 Panasonic Open India at Delhi Golf Club on Saturday.</p>.<p>The 26-year-old Joshi, who is hunting for a maiden Asian Tour title, produced a near-perfect card which included nine birdies and one bogey. His three-day total of a 13-under-203 now matches Siddikur, who scored 70 in the third round.</p>.<p>Joshi, a three-time winner on the PGTI, was delighted with his round: “I hit it pretty well of the tee and the putting was also good, so overall the game is in good shape. I’m happy with the way I’m playing.</p>.<p>“I have always struggled to hit fairways with the driver here at the DGC. But I have worked on my driving. I’m hitting drivers on a few holes this year. At the moment, I’m comfortable with my swing and the way I’m playing. I have a fair chance on Sunday and hopefully tomorrow I will be up there throughout the round.”</p>.<p>There was a strong Indian presence in the top-5 as Ajeetesh Sandhu continued to be on third place after he delivered a 70 in round three. Overnight joint-leader Suradit Yongcharoenchai of Thailand slipped two shots off the pace to fourth following a 72 in the event.</p>.<p>“I’m disappointed with my score because I played a lot better than that. I just missed a lot of putts. But still I'm just one back so that doesn't mean anything. There are still 18 holes to go,” Sandhu said.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, Aman Raj struck a second successive 68 to occupy fifth place at 10-under-206. Sachin Baisoya (67) and M Dharma (70) were both tied for sixth at nine-under 207, thus making it five Indians in the top-10.</p>.<p>Defending champion Shiv Kapur, former champion Chiragh Kumar, Tapy Ghai, S Chikkarangappa and Jyoti Randhawa were all in tied 17th at five-under 211.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>Leading scores (after 54 holes, Indians unless mentioned): 203:</strong> </span>Khalin Joshi (71, 68, 64), Siddikur Rahman (67, 66, 70, Ban); <span class="bold"><strong>204:</strong></span> Ajeetesh Sandhu (67, 67, 70); <span class="bold"><strong>205:</strong></span> Suradit Yongcharoenchai (66, 67, 72, Tha); <span class="bold"><strong>206:</strong></span> Aman Raj (70, 68, 68); <span class="bold"><strong>207:</strong></span> Sachin Baisoya (70, 70, 67), Matt Stieger (70, 69, 68, Aus), Yutaka Araki (70, 67, 70, Jpn) Settee Prakongvech (70, 67, 70, Tha), M Dharma (70, 67, 70).</p>
<p>Khalin Joshi carded a superb eight-under 64 to join Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman at the top of the leaderboard in the penultimate round of the USD 400,000 Panasonic Open India at Delhi Golf Club on Saturday.</p>.<p>The 26-year-old Joshi, who is hunting for a maiden Asian Tour title, produced a near-perfect card which included nine birdies and one bogey. His three-day total of a 13-under-203 now matches Siddikur, who scored 70 in the third round.</p>.<p>Joshi, a three-time winner on the PGTI, was delighted with his round: “I hit it pretty well of the tee and the putting was also good, so overall the game is in good shape. I’m happy with the way I’m playing.</p>.<p>“I have always struggled to hit fairways with the driver here at the DGC. But I have worked on my driving. I’m hitting drivers on a few holes this year. At the moment, I’m comfortable with my swing and the way I’m playing. I have a fair chance on Sunday and hopefully tomorrow I will be up there throughout the round.”</p>.<p>There was a strong Indian presence in the top-5 as Ajeetesh Sandhu continued to be on third place after he delivered a 70 in round three. Overnight joint-leader Suradit Yongcharoenchai of Thailand slipped two shots off the pace to fourth following a 72 in the event.</p>.<p>“I’m disappointed with my score because I played a lot better than that. I just missed a lot of putts. But still I'm just one back so that doesn't mean anything. There are still 18 holes to go,” Sandhu said.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, Aman Raj struck a second successive 68 to occupy fifth place at 10-under-206. Sachin Baisoya (67) and M Dharma (70) were both tied for sixth at nine-under 207, thus making it five Indians in the top-10.</p>.<p>Defending champion Shiv Kapur, former champion Chiragh Kumar, Tapy Ghai, S Chikkarangappa and Jyoti Randhawa were all in tied 17th at five-under 211.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>Leading scores (after 54 holes, Indians unless mentioned): 203:</strong> </span>Khalin Joshi (71, 68, 64), Siddikur Rahman (67, 66, 70, Ban); <span class="bold"><strong>204:</strong></span> Ajeetesh Sandhu (67, 67, 70); <span class="bold"><strong>205:</strong></span> Suradit Yongcharoenchai (66, 67, 72, Tha); <span class="bold"><strong>206:</strong></span> Aman Raj (70, 68, 68); <span class="bold"><strong>207:</strong></span> Sachin Baisoya (70, 70, 67), Matt Stieger (70, 69, 68, Aus), Yutaka Araki (70, 67, 70, Jpn) Settee Prakongvech (70, 67, 70, Tha), M Dharma (70, 67, 70).</p>
