Ashok Kumar returned to his familiar spot - atop the leaderboard - sharing space with joint leader Shamim Khan, both with an identical score of nine-under 135 at the end of the second day's play in the HT Pro Golf 2004.

Overnight joint leader US Mundy, however, slipped to tied-seventh position after a second day score of one-over 73.

The fifth leg of the Amby Valley PGAI Tour, being played at the par-72 Classic Golf Resort in Gurgaon, is all set for an exciting finish as some of the big names are in contention for the title.

A superb performance of seven-under 65 today from DS Raghuvanshi saw him lying one stroke behind the leaders at eight-under 136 along with Asian gold medalist Shiv Kapur. The trio of Gaurav Ghei, Mohd Islam and Vivek Bhandari meanwhile was at seven-under 137, two strokes adrift the leaders.

As many as 53 professionals and three amateurs went through to the money-making rounds with the cut being applied at four-over 148. Some of the notable names that missed the cut were Rohtas Singh, Gurbaaz Mann and Monish Bindra.

Ashok recorded two birdies and an eagle on his way to the top. The 12th hole saw him chip-in for an eagle while he birdied the first and second holes. His solitary bogey came on the sixth hole where he missed a simple putt.

"I hope to make it three-in-a-row on the Amby Valley PGAI Tour. I will definitely play for a win", said the Delhi pro.

The other joint leader Shamim Khan, meanwhile, carded a two-under 70 today to keep a grip on the lead. While his birdie count stood at four, he bogeyed holes 12 and 17. His luck with the putter ran out today as he missed several easy birdie putts.

The lowest score of the day of seven-under 65 came from D S Raghuvanshi, who fired a streak of nine birdies, which included two chip-ins - on the fifth and seventh holes. His chance at an even better score was marred by two bogeys, each of which was caused due to a two feet miss on the greens. His overall putting however was excellent as he returned a card that showed a total of 22 putts against his name.

Raghuvanshi shared the tied-third position with Shiv Kapur who carded yet another four-under today to have a two-day tally of eight-under 136.

Overnight joint leader Uttam Singh Mundy had a terrible day with the putter as he missed only three greens in regulation but made 19 putts on the front nine.

Amateurs: Among the amateurs, Anitya Chand led the field carding a four-under 68 for a two-day tally of 144.

(Scores after 36 holes): 135 Ashok Kumar (66,69), Shamim Khan (65,70); 136 D S Raghuvanshi (71,65), Shiv Kapur (68,68); 137 Gaurav Ghei (70,67), Md Islam (68,69), Vivek Bhandari (68,69) ; 138 C Muniyappa (71,67), Digvijay Singh (67,71), US Mundy (65,73) ; 139 Gast Ram (71,68), Mukesh Kumar (70,69), Yusuf Ali (67,72), Vijay Kumar (66,73).

Amateurs: 144 Anitya Chand (76,68) ; 143 Chirag Kumar (75,68) ; 145 Shaurya Singh (68,77).