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Indian men’s singles badminton has seen emergence of many good players in recent years. Kidambi Srikanth was the brightest shining star in 2017 as he won four Super Series titles that year. HS Prannoy and B Sai Praneeth also had their moments of success at different times. Sameer Verma has been the underdog but surprised everyone by reaching the World Tour finals in 2018.
But one man, who has been out of the spotlight is veteran Ajay Jayaram. At 32 years of age, many would have thought that his best years are behind him. Yet in the ongoing BWF World Tour Super 300 Barcelona Spain Masters, it was he who went the furthest among Indians by reaching the semi-final. Unfortunately, he lost to young Thai shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn in straight games (22-20, 21-12) and couldn’t play for the trophy.
But now, Jayaram has put out a tweet which suggests that all may not be well as far as relations between him and the Badminton Association of India (BAI). The reason for this is a tweet put out by the player in response to one from BAI Media handle.
The tweet from BAI read: “Tough Luck...well played Ajay! Let's look at more of such finishes.” This seems like a harmless tweet from badminton’s governing body. But the response from Jayaram to this tweet is bound to raise some eyebrows.
“I certainly can, if I can get some support from you guys!” This tweet seemingly implies some grievance on the part of the veteran as to the help he has got from BAI. Perhaps, what he is trying to say is that the governing body has been more focused on the star players and haven’t given the assistance to him that would have helped him improve his game. Watch this space to know what happens next in this story.
Also see | Barcelona Spain Masters 2020: Indian challenge ends as Ajay Jayaram loses in the semi-finals
