India’s Anika Varma could not take advantage of the numerous chances she gave herself in the third round of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship on Friday, but still managed to shoot a two-under par 70 round to have an outside chance of winning the region’s premier tournament going into the final round.

At Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s National course, the 17-year-old Varma provided a masterclass of ball-striking, but in a space of five holes from the sixth onwards, she converted only one birdie chance on the eighth hole from less than a foot and missed the other four from inside five feet.

The two-under-par 70 moved her to tied sixth place at nine-under par 207, six shots behind Thailand’s Natthakritta Vongtaveelap, who continued to dominate the championship and opened up a three-shot lead at the top after a brilliant birdie-eagle finish.

Japan’s Mizuki Hashimoto added a third straight 68 to move to 12-under-par and in second place, one ahead of Australian Kelsey Bennett (69).