India’s Ajay Jayaram trounced compatriot P. Kashyap in straight games to progress to the third round of the Indonesia Grand Prix Gold badminton here on Wednesday.
Third seed Jayaram won 21-7, 21-12 in a lopsided 27-minute contest. Kashyap, whose Rio Olympics dream was derailed by a string of injuries, was playing in his first competitive tournament since March when he suffered a knee injury at the German Open.
H.S. Prannoy, the 2014 champion and the seventh seed, lost to Huang Yuxiang from China 21-19, 19-21, 21-23 in a gruelling pre-quarterfinal round that lasted 45 minutes. Earlier he was imperious in his second-round victory over Joo Ven Soong. He defeated his Malaysian opponent 21-17, 21-9.
B. Sai Praneeth also failed to reach the quarterfinals after suffering a 21-14, 21-13 defeat against fifth-seeded Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in the third round. He earlier produced a spirited performance, bagging an 18-21, 21-14, 21-15 win over Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the second round.
The results: Men: Third round: Ajay Jayaram bt P. Kashyap 21-7, 21-12; Huang Yuxiang (Chn) bt H.S. Prannoy 21-19, 19-21, 21-23; Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Tha) bt B. Sai Praneeth 21-14, 21-13.
Second round: Sai Praneeth bt Kantaphon Wangcharoen (Tha) 18-21, 21-14, 21-15; Prannoy bt Joo Ven Soong 21-17, 21-9.
