Ajay Jayaram crashed out of the U.S. Open after suffering a straight-game loss to Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama in the men’s singles semifinals of the Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament on Sunday.
The World No. 22 and fourth seed could not match the intensity of his rival and lost 10-21 14-21 in 33 minutes at the Los Angeles Badminton Club.
The 28-year-old could not step up his game against the Japanese, who led 4-2 at the start and then broke off at 6-6 and never looked back.
From 8-7, Tsuneyama reeled off 10 straight points to create a huge gap, which Jayaram could not bridge.
In the second game, Jayaram put up a better show and opened up a slender 3-1 lead. The duo then fought till 14-14 when Tsuneyama sealed the issue in his favour with seven points straight.
