Ya Ni shot a 2-under 70 for a two round total of 140, while Russamee fired a 1-under 71 for a 141 total.

In contrast, overnight leader Meghna Bal, an amateur from India, did not get her act together as she signed off with a 2-over 74 to drop to third position. Another Indian hope Irina Brar succumbed to the strong winds and had a poor round of 7-over 79 and dropped to joint 9th spot with Chinese Taipei's Shih Huei Ju and Japan's Rie Shiraki.

Barely two months after turning professional, Ya Ni, who as an amateur helped Chinese Taipei win the 2005 Queen Sirikit Cup in Bangkok and then again in 2006 in Australia, said she struck solid shots today despite the strong winds.

"I hit it pretty well today but was a little disappointed as I missed a lot of short putts including two from about 2 feet and another one from about 3 feet. Those were for birdies.

"I wanted to play safe but I couldn't take control," said Ya Ni, who posted birdies on holes 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18. However, she dropped one each on 2, 8 and 13.

Russamee hit solid shots with the driver that gave her a good chance to pick up strokes. "But I didn't have it good with my irons, still I managed to make some good putts. I played pretty good to make the turn at 2-under. The home stretch was a little tough with strong winds coming in all directions," she said.

Meghna, who had hoped to stretch her lead today, had a good front nine, posting a birdie on the 14th (her fifth hole) and made the turn at 1-under. However, she bogeyed the second, fourth and sixth holes to surrender her lead.

"I wasn't able to control my shots. My shots did not fall on the targeted areas. It affected my concentration and I sort of lost control. I'll try and regain something tomorrow to have my name printed on the trophy," she said.

The Nation, Agencies