Indian Harjai Turns Up the Heat in Sri Lanka

Colombo, Sri Lanka: Making the most of local knowledge, Harjai Milkha Singh swept to the top of the leaderboard on the opening day of the 2026 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Junior Championships.

The son of legendary Indian professional Jeev Milkha Singh, Harjai recovered from a shaky start to post a two-under-par 68 on a breezy day at Royal Colombo Golf Club.

Harjai, who leads the Boys’ category by one shot from Singaporean Troy Storm and Hong Kong, China’s Lander Lee, said: “I played here in December in the Indian Golf Premier League event, so I know where to hit it … and where not to hit it.

“At this course it’s important also to know how the ball comes out when it sits down in the fairway and rough, as well as understanding the grain and the slopes on the greens. It’s definitely helpful that I’ve played here before.”

Nonetheless, Harjai was slow out of the blocks, dropping shots at the fourth and fifth before finding his range.

“I got off to a cold start and was two-over through five. But then I got hot with three birdies in a row and was one-under at the turn,” said Harjai, who also negotiated the back nine of the par-70 layout in one-under.

A wayward drive that flew out of bounds and cost him a bogey at the par-five 15th provoked him to end the round strongly, an 18-foot birdie putt disappearing below ground on the home hole to ensure him sole possession of top spot.

“That was a good finish on 18 and gives me good momentum for the next two days,” said Harjai.

Fresh from his victory in last week’s Singapore Junior Championship, Storm, like Harjai, also made an inauspicious start with bogeys at the first three holes and four of the first five. From that point, he didn’t drop another shot, covering the final 13 holes in five-under.

Replicating the streak of his Indian rival, Storm steadied the ship with birdies at six, seven and eight and made further gains on 14 and 15.

“After five holes I wasn’t too happy and felt like I was going to shoot a lot out there, but I came back well,” said Storm. “I’m feeling confident after winning last week and am looking forward to the second round – and making a better start.”

Like Storm, Lee is visiting Sri Lanka for the first time. “I wasn’t expecting such a good score. It’s a good course. The rough is tough and the greens are running fast so I’m glad to shoot one-under,” he said.

In the Girls’ category, top-ranked Achiraya Sriwong has a share of the first-round lead.

The Thai, 22nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), returned an even-par 70, a score that was matched by China’s Xing Feiyu and Hong Kong, China’s Sabrina Wong.

On a tightly-packed leaderboard, they are one shot ahead of Korean Kim Gyu-been, Thai Marisa Tojai, Singaporean Amelie Blossom Ng and Chinese Taipei’s Annika Chen.

All four were left to rue slip-ups on the par-four 18th.

Winner of the individual award at last month’s Queen Sirikit Cup in Indonesia, Kim missed a golden opportunity to join the leaders when her three-foot birdie putt lipped out.

Although Tojai, Chen and Ng all made bogeys on the hole, they’re well positioned to challenge for top honours in the 54-hole event that includes individual and team elements.

In the Boys’ team event in which the scores of two players are tallied, Harjai and Krish Chawla lead the way on two-over 142. That’s one shot ahead of Korea (Son Je-yi and Chun Ji-yul) and Hong Kong, China (Lee and Joseph Cao).

In the Girls’ team event, the Thai duo of Achiraya and Tojai (141) are in top spot with Korea (Kim and Yoon Gyu-ri) and China (Xing and Peng Yanxuan) in joint second on 143.

Meanwhile, Storm and Ng are setting the pace in the Mixed Team event on even-par 140 – two in front of Korea (Kim and Son) and three ahead of third-placed Indian (Harjai and Guntas Kaur Sandhu).

Leading Boys’ Scores

68 – Harjai Milkha Singh (India)
69 – Troy Storm (Singapore); Lander Lee (Hong Kong, China)
71 – Son Je-yi (Korea); Yan Jinheng (China)
72 – Daniil Sokolov (Qatar); Chun Ji-yul (Korea)
73 – Adhithya Weerasinghe (Sri Lanka)

Leading Girls’ Scores

70 – Xing Feiyu (China); Achiraya Sriwong (Thailand); Sabrina Wong (Hong Kong, China)
71 – Kim Gyu-been (Korea); Marisa Tojai (Thailand); Amelie Blossom Ng (Singapore); Annika Chen (Chinese Taipei)
72 – Yoon Gyu-ri (Korea)
73 – Peng Yanxuan (China); Wang Yung-jen (Chinese Taipei)