Home crowd enjoys Malaysian show

Malaysia's Gunasegaran is in fine form for his country

Malaysian pair Danny Chia and P Gunasegaran shot a 66 to grab a share of the lead after the second round in the Nations Cup.

Malaysia, China and first-round leaders Norway sit on top of the leaderboard on 12-under in the teams tournament in Kuala Lumpur.

The local supporters were delighted as they watched the players battle in the tournament that serves as a qualifying event for the World Cup.

Other Asian nations such as Philippines, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong all impressed and finished the day within four shots of the leaders.

Bjornstad made a brave fightback

Chia and Gunasegaran had begun their round 12th on the leaderboard and were extremely satisfied with their efforts.

"We never dreamt of returning a score of six under for the day," Chia said.

"Playing the foursomes with alternate shots is one of the most difficult situations in a team situation but I am glad that it worked out well for us today."

Norway's Per Haugsrud and Henrik Bjornstad, who held a two-shot lead after a 12-under 60 on the first day, started their second round poorly but recovered to salvage par.

Knowing that we are still in the driving seat is a good omen as we go into the weekend

Per Haugsrud

"We had four bogeys in the first four holes but hung in there and we knew that the course offered some birdie opportunities," Haugsrud said.

"Coming off the 18th green knowing that we are still in the driving seat is a good omen as we go into the weekend."

The Chinese pair of Zhang Lian-wei and Liang Wen-chong followed up their 10-under 62 on Friday with a two-under 70 to keep them in a strong position.

Mexico and Brazil struggled and finished on two over and three over.

The top six nations in the Nations Cup will qualify for the World Cup, which will be held in Japan from 15-18 November.