Jayaram stuns Sasaki to seal SF spot

Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram notched up a stunning three-game victory over higher-ranked Japanese Sho Sasaki to reach the men’s singles semifinals of the Korea Open Super Series badminton tournament here on Friday.

Going into the match with a 1-2 head-to-head record, Jayaram eked out a 21-19 16-21 21-16 win over world number 26 Sasaki in a match that lasted one hour and five minutes.

The world number 32 Indian will next take on the winner of the match between China’s Tian Houwei and Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen, seeded seventh.

The Dutch Open winner Indian showed tremendous grit as he fought back from 3-11 down in the first game to claw back with a eight-point burst and even though Sasaki once again marched ahead and held his lead till 19-17, Jayaram sealed the opening game by reeling off another four points on the trot.