Sadbhav Acharya, Siddhanta Sapkota and Aaiesteena Tandan took the lead after the second day of the Faldo Junior Tour Nepal Championship at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club in Kathmandu on Thursday.

Nepal number one amateur golfer Acharya played 5-over 73 for the 36-hole total of even-par 136 in the boys’ 17-21 age group category.

Acharya has a 17-strokes lead over Sansar BK, who played 9-over 77 for 36-hole total of 17-over 153. Swapnil Bhattarai remained at the third place with the total score of 23-over 159 after he played 13-over 81 in the second round.

Siddhanta moved to the top of the leaderboard in the boys’ 12-16 age category after playing 17-over 85 for 36-hole total of 35-over 171. He is six strokes ahead of Soham Agrawal, who played 20-over 88 for the total score of 41-over 177. Overnight leader Idant Singh Saud slipped to third at 43-over 179 after he played 27-over 95.

In girls’ section, Aaiesteena opened up a 7-stroke lead over overnight leader Avanie Rai. Aaiesteena played 14-over 82 in the second round for the total score of 39-over 175. First-round leader Avanie slipped to second position at 46-over 182 after she played 26-over 94.

A total of 31 players from Kathmandu, Pokhara, Dharan and Chitwan are taking part in the 54-hole tournament organised by Nepal Golf Association.

The winners of all three categories will earn berths in the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final to be held in Spain and Vietnam.