Vikarabad, Aug. 26 -- 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 the Vooty Golf County in Vikarabad, Telangana.

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