Akshay Sharma, Manu Gandas share lead at Telangana Open 2026

Akshay Sharma and Manu Gandas carded seven-under 65s to share the opening-day lead at the Telangana Open 2026 in Vikarabad. Vishesh Sharma and Rashid Khan were one shot behind, while play was suspended due to fading light

Hyderabad: Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma and Gurugram’s Manu Gandas carded matching seven-under 65s to share a one-shot clubhouse lead after the opening day of the Telangana Open 2026 being played at Vooty Golf County in Vikarabad on Tuesday.

Paired together on Tuesday, the two experienced campaigners reached the top of the leaderboard in contrasting fashion.

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Akshay made a flying start with four consecutive birdies from the first through the fourth. A bogey on the par-five fifth briefly halted his momentum, but he responded with four more birdies to complete an impressive opening round.

Manu Gandas, on the other hand, made two birdies and a bogey on the front nine and then had a late flourish with an eagle and four birdies on the back nine.

Hyderabad-based 19-year-old Vishesh Sharma and Delhi’s Rashid Khan shared third place at six-under 66, one shot behind the leaders.

Vishesh produced a bogey-free round featuring six birdies on his return to competition. He had been sidelined by illness for a couple of weeks after missing the cut at the J&K Open three weeks ago.

Rashid put together an eventful 66 featuring an eagle on the par-four third, six birdies and two bogeys.

Noida’s Lakshya Nagar also kept a clean card, making five birdies in a bogey-free five-under 67 to occupy fifth place.

Akshay, 36, credited his putting with helping him take advantage of the soft, receptive greens.

DP World PGTI Order of Merit leader Saptak Talwar returned an even-par 72 to finish the day in tied 43rd.

Hyderabad’s Mohd Azhar, who secured his maiden professional title at last week’s Kolar Open, carded a one-over 73 and was tied 51st.

The opening round was suspended due to fading light, with 27 players out of a total of 132 still on the course. Play will resume on Wednesday morning at 6:45 am local time, when the remaining players will complete their rounds.