Lahiri stays in the hunt at Queen's Cup

Anirban Lahiri brought home a card of 72 to slip to tied eighth at the Queen's Cup golf on Friday.

The 23-year-old Indian, however, stayed in the contention with three shots behind the leaders - South African Jbe Kruger (68) and Japan's Daisuke Maruyama (67).

Chinnarat Phadungsil (67) was third, while four golfers, including Bangladesh's Siddikur (68) and Chawlit Plaphol (67) were tied for fourth.

Overnight leader Prayad Marksaeng slipped three off the pace after struggling to a 73 and was tied eighth. "It was a roller-coaster round today with six birdies against seven bogeys. The winds made it difficult out there and in the middle of the round, I felt my shoulder twinge a bit. It's not unbearable," said Lahiri.

Lahiri, however, said he was still hopeful. "The good thing with this 72 is that I'm still in it, only three shots back of the leaders. There are two more days to go and I'll give it a shot."

Meanwhile, only three other Indians made the cut and leading them is Jyoti Randhawa (69), the only Indian making a upward move.

From a lowly 58th, he rose to tied 15th at 142, indicating that a turnaround in fortunes could be around the corner. He was joined in tied 15th by young Himmat Rai (73).

Things were not too good for most of the other Indians with only Digvijay Singh (78) squeezing inside the cutline, which came at five-over.

All other Indians missed the cut. Chiragh Kumar (73-75), Gaurav Ghei (74-77), Mandeo Pathania (74-79), Manav Jaini (75-79) and Sujjan Singh (83-75) failed to make the weekend rounds. Vikrant Chopra retired after the first round 77.

Kruger edged closer to a maiden Asian Tour victory when a three-under-par 68 gave him a two-shot lead.

The 24-year-old, who finished runner-up on three occasions last season, extended his current rich vein of form with four birdies against a lone bogey on a windswept day at Santiburi Samui Country Club.

With three successive top-10s recently, Kruger, currently fourth on the Order of Merit, mastered the swirling winds to give himself a shot at a first career victory in Asia.

The 37-year-old Chawalit, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, produced quality shots in tough conditions to move up the leaderboard.

With his faulty driver still making rattling sounds, Prayad was blown off course with three dropped shots against a lone birdie on 16.