Calcutta: Anirban Lairi returned a card of three over 75 to consolidate his lead at the mid-way stage of the Goodricke East India Amateur Golf Championship 2006 at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club Wednesday. Lahiri’s tournament tally stands at three-under 141 in the eighth leg of the Royal Challenge National Amateur Circuit.

Three strokes behind the leader at 144, was the duo of L. Selvadurai and Himmat Rai. While Selvadurai fired a well-planned 69, Rai returned a card of 71.

However, Lahiri by his own lofty standards had a rather ordinary day. The golfer started the day with three straight pars but broke the ice with a birdie on the fourth. Dropped shots on the seventh and eighth saw him make the turn at one-over. Things took a turn for the worse when Lahiri carded a double bogey on the 13th. A bogey on the 15th pushed him to four over but the golfer made it up with a birdie finish to his round for a card of 75.

Selvadurai was consistent on his front-nine with a birdie on the second and a bogey on the fifth.

Himmat Rai’s round had a liberal splattering of birdies and bogeys. The golfer birdied the first, fourth, seventh, 15th and 16th and dropped shots on the third, fifth, 17th and 18th.

HOW THEY STAND

141—Anirban Lahiri (66, 75); 144—L. Selvadurai (75, 69), Himmat Rai (73, 71); 145—Saurabh Bahuguna (72, 73); 146—Sanjeev Mehra (72, 74); 147—Jasjeet Singh (76, 71); 149—Surya Prakash (79, 70); 151—Samaresh Sardar (73, 78), Shaurya Singh (75, 76); 152—Sheik Kader Ali (75,77).