India’s Ajay Jayaram continued his rampaging run at the Korea Open badminton on Saturday, notching up a sensational straight-game upset victory over World No. 7 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, to storm into the final of the $600,000 Super Series event here.
Long forgotten in the Indian badminton corridors, the 27-year-old Bengaluru-based player created ripples in world badminton after prevailing over seventh seed Chen 21-19, 21-15 in a 43-minute men’s singles semifinal clash. Earlier, Chen posted a comfortable 21-9, 21-13 win over Japan's Kento Momota.
Losing to the same opponent twice this season — at the German Open and US Open — World No. 32 Jayaram carried those scars as armour into the match, dominating the proceedings to eventually set up a summit clash with World No. 1 Chen Long of China.
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Jayaram possibly remembered his victories over Chen in Thailand and Japan in 2011 and 2013 when he took to the court as he opened up an 11-8 lead at one stage.
The Taiwanese turned the tables with a seven-point burst but the Indian was determined enough to stave off the challenge and soon pocketed the game to take a 1-0 lead.
Jayaram produced a more dominating show in the second game as he surged 3-0 ahead in quick time and then moved into the break with an 11-7 lead.
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Chen once again clawed back to make it 12-12 and then 14-15.
However, Jayaram didn’t allow him to come any closer as he reeled off six points to seal the match.
Jayaram had reached the semifinals at the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold, Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold and Russian Open Grand Prix this season. Jayaram described his win as a “huge” one and is now looking forward to the final.
Huge win
“A huge win for me. I did a good job both strategically and mentally. I had lost twice to him earlier this year. I was much more patient today and opened out the rallies well. I controlled the game well from the net and mixed my attack nicely. He took an initial lead in the first set but I’m happy I was able to keep my composure and get back strongly.
“Definitely excited to be in my first Super Series final. But I will try not to dwell too much on the past few matches and focus on tomorrow’s one. I know it’s going to be tough,” Jayaram said.