Shiv Kapur lets Ashok Kumar off the hook

By Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 11. Seventh-ranked Shiv Kapur was poised to book a semifinal berth as he was two up at the end of the 15th hole against second seed Ashok Kumar. But Kapur succumbed under pressure with three successive bogeys and let Ashok Kumar off the hook in the 99th Amateur golf Championship of India at the Delhi Golf Club Course here on Friday.

In a battle between two teenagers, Ashok Kumar never lost his composure despite trailing till the 16th hole and made some long putts in the inward nine before Kapur's challenge faded away.

Shiv surged ahead on the fifth hole as Ashok made a bogey. A folly by Shiv on the eighth hole, when he picked up the ball before completing his one-foot par putt, resulted in him conceding the lead as Ashok protested and got the decision in his favour. Ashok had a bogey on the 11th hole and then Shiv made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 12th to go for a two-hole lead.

Ashok Kumar stayed on course with a 25-foot birdie on the 13th hole. With the contest hotting up, Shiv replied with another birdie to gain a firm grip once again after the 14th hole. Shiv had disastrous tee off shots on the last three holes and ended with bogeys on each to lose the match.

In other quarterfinals, fourth seed Rahil Gangjee overcame Sri Lankan Koniwinna Chandradasa 4 and 3. Gangjee was one up after the 10th hole but his opponent had two consecutive bogeys on the 11th and the 12th to strengthen his chances. A birdie by Gangjee on the 14th hole sealed the fate as he halved the next hole for a last four place. Gangjee will face Rahul Ganapathy, who held his one- hole lead from the 15th hole. Ashok will meet Saurabh Bahuguna who defeated Aman Bahl 4 and 3.

The scores:

Quarterfinals:Rahul Ganapathy bt Amit Luthra 1 up; Rahil Gangjee bt K. A. Chandradasa (SL) bt 4 and 3; Ashok Kumar bt Shiv Kapur 1 up; Saurabh Bahuguna bt Aman Bahl 4 and 3.

Pre-quarterfinals: Luthra bt Manav Jaini 4 and 3; Ganapathy bt Rajiv Niranjan Datar 3 and 2; Gangjee bt Rajeev Kumar 4 and 3; Chandradasa bt Ranjit Nanda 3 and 2; Ashok Kumar bt Ashok Singh Malik 7 and 6; Shiv Kapur bt Sanjiv Talwar 2 up; Bahuguna bt Jasjeet Singh 2 and 1; Bahl bt Simarjeet Singh 2 and 1.

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