Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram is through to the semi-finals of the US Open Super 300 tournament after recording a straight-game victory over South Korea’s Heo Kwang Hee in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Ajay, who was ranked as high as 13th in the world in September last year before plummeting to his current placement of 134 because of a hamstring injury, was stretched in the opening two rounds by world No 368 Yun Kyu Lee and world No 31 Ygor Coelho but was then hardly troubled by the 70th-ranked Heo.
After exchanging the first few points, Ajay won six points in a row to take a 10-4 lead in the first game, only for Heo to bag the next five to close the gap to 10-9. Ajay then again opened up the gap to make it 14-9 before closing out the game 21-18.
The second game was a lot tighter to begin as Hee took a slender 9-8 lead before Ajay broke free, winning five points in a row. Heo could never recover from there as Ajay closed out the game 21-12 and sealed the match. The 30-year-old Indian will take on sixth seed Mark Caljouw of Netherlands, who is ranked 30th in the world, in the semi-finals.
In the other men’s singles semi-final, fourth seed Khosit Phetpradab of Thailand will take on the unseeded Lee Dong Keun, who had defeated two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan in the first round.
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!