Viraj, Sunit power through to semis at Tata Steel Eastern India Amateur

Local lad Sunit Chowrasia joined him in the last 4 with twin victories of his own much to the delight of fans gathered at the Par – 72 Royal Calcutta Golf Club.

Viraj took out country’s top amateur Udayan Mane 2&1 in a heavy weight round of 16 clash. Udayan took the early lead in that match with a birdie on the 2nd hole but once Viraj squared the match on the 4th hole, he made sure the burly Bengaluru lad had no way in as he closed out the affair with a par on the Par 4 17th hole.

He kicked off his quarter final clash against Jaipur lad Hemendra Chaudhary with a birdie 3 and a couple of pars to go 2 up after three holes. A see-saw battle ensued as Hemendra hit a couple of birdies himself to square the match after seven holes. Viraj was relentless and won the next hole, which Hemendra’s birdie would negate on the 12th hole. The 16 year old changed then changed gears with three successive birdies from the 14th to 16th holes to complete a 3&2 win.

Sunit, who happens to be S. S. P. Chowrasia’s nephew edged out Chandigarh’s Zubin Nijhawan 1 Up with a birdie on the 18th hole before teeing up against Harimohan Singh in his quarterfinal. With three birdies on the front nine he went 3 Up at the turn and rolled in a par for victory on the 16th hole.

In other matches, top seed Aman Raj routed Anant Singh Ahlawat 6&5 in the round of 16 followed by an impressive 5&4 win against Tapendra Ghai. Col. Sanjay Lakra of Indian Army beat Bengaluru youngster Rahul Ravi 1 Up on his way to the semifinals. He beat another Bengaluru lad Lokesh Lakshman, who earlier upset All India Amateur champion Pratap Atwal, in the quarterfinal 2&1.

Results - Quarter Finals:

Aman Raj beat Tapendra Ghai 5&4; Sunit Chowrasia beat Harimohan Singh 4&2; Viraj Madappa beat Hemendra Chaudhary 3&2; Sanjay Lakra beat Lokesh Lakshman 2&1

Line Up – Semi Finals:

Aman Raj vs Sunit Chowrasia; Viraj Madappa vs Sanjay Lakra