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After stunning World No. 6 yesterday, Ajay Jayaram got the better of World No. 30 Wing Ki Vincent Wong on Thursday as he defeated the player from Hong Kong 21-17, 15-21, 15-21 in a tough three game match. There was a setback in women’s singles as the former World Championships bronze medalist P.V Sindhu was shown the exit doors by Japanese ace Sayaka Takahashi.
Jayaram, who is now the only Indian player remaining in the tournament got past his 25-year old rival in a second round match which lasted for 53 minutes. 27-year old from Bangalore started the match on a positive note as he took a strong four-point lead prior to the mid-game interval of the opening game. But Wong clawed his way back as he won few quick points to back level the scores to 11-all.
It was at this stage that the higher ranked shuttler from Hong Kong changed his gears as he reeled off next eight points in the blink of an eye to take a commendable advantage. With such a huge lead in hand, he faced absolutely no difficulty in wrapping the opener 21-17.
The second game was a role reversal as this time it was the Hong Kong ace, who took the initial advantage which was then taken back by the former Dutch Open Grand Prix winner, Ajay Jayaram. Down 10-11, Indian, who had a win-loss record of 1-1 against his opponent grabbed the next four points on the trot to take control of the proceedings.
Wong tried to fight his way back, but Jayaram rattled points quickly to capture the game and take the match to a decider.
Final game began on an even note as both the players were fighting hard for each and every point. From 11-11, Jayaram grabbed the next two points in a row to take a slender lead. Following this, the Chennai-born ace never let this lead slip off his hands as he bagged the game and hence the match.
He will now take on the winner of the match between Sho Sasaki of Japan and Jonatan Christie of Indonesia for a place in last four of the tournament.
In women’s singles, World No. 14 P.V Sindhu, who stunned the World No. 5 and former World Champion Ratchanok Intanon yesterday looked completely out of touch as she lost to World No. 16 Japanese shuttler Sayaka Takahashi 16-21 13-21 in a completely one-sided affair. It never looked like that Sindhu was even trying to catch her opponent.
This was Takahashi’s second win in three meetings against the higher ranked Indian girl.
Final Scoreline-
Ajay Jayaram beat Wing Ki Vincent Wong 21-17, 15-21, 15-21 (53 mins)
Sayaka Takahashi beat PV Sindhu 21-16 21-13 (31 mins)
