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Indian badminton fans have been left rather disappointed by the losses of various players across categories in the Barcelona Spain Masters Super 300 tournament in BWF World Tour. The only Indian left is Ajay Jayaram, a man who was least expected to reach the semi-final stage.
Ajay has come so far the hard way. While this tournament is devoid of star power and doesn’t feature more than a couple of big names across the singles’ division, still, Jayaram had to go through his much more fancied and much higher ranked and seeded compatriot Kidambi Srikanth to reach the semis.
He won his quarter-final match against France’s Thomas Rouxel without much difficulty. The scoreline shows the convincing nature of his triumph – 21-14, 21-15 – and he took just 37 minutes to wrap up the match.
Now, interestingly, in the semi-final, he would face the same man who knocked out his compatriot on the same day – Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Just 18-years old, Kunlavut is ranked 32nd in the world and is currently placed 20th in World Tour rankings.
Compared to him, Jayaram is ranked 68th in the world and is placed 46th in the World Tour rankings. This suggests that the 32-year old Indian would go in as the underdog in the match. But that’s not necessarily the case if you look at the current form. If he can beat Kidambi, he can certainly get the better of his 14-years younger opponent.
Also, after winning his quarter-final match rather easily, he is probably fresher than Vitidsarn who had to battle through a three-game contest which went on for more than an hour.
Head to Head
This would be the very first meeting between these two competitors. Here, Jayaram, with his experience, could have an advantage. But Vitidsarn is a talented player who can’t be underestimated.
Match Schedule
Tournament: Barcelona Spain Masters 2020
Category: BWF World Tour Super 300
Venue: Vall d'Hebron Olympic Sports Centre, Barcelona, Spain
Match Timings: The semi-final between Kunlavut and Jayaram is listed as the fifth match on court 1. The matches get underway at 3:30 PM IST. So, this semi-final can be expected to begin around 7:30 PM, the exact timing depending on the length of the four preceding matches.
Where to watch the match in India?
The telecast of the semi-final stage will begin at 3:30 PM on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD. For those watching online, Hotstar will stream the matches live.
