Ajay Jayaram Stuns Viktor Axelsen To Enter Malaysia Open Quarters

India's Ajay Jayaram stunned number four seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 9-21, 21-14, 21-19 in a men's singles match on Thursday to enter the Malaysia Open Superseries quarter-finals. Jayaram, unseeded in the tournament, produced a remarkable comeback after being completely outclassed in the first game of the match that lasted 44 minutes at the Stadium Perpaduan. The Indian shuttler will next go up against fifth seeded Son Wan Ho of South Korea.

After an extremely slow start in the opening game, Jayaram got his act together to take an early lead in the second game and jump to 8-3.

He continued to maintain his lead until the Danish shuttler caught up with him at 11-11. But Jayaram managed to break away at 12-12, reeling off six straight points to make it 18-12.

He eventually sealed the game 21-14 to take the match into a decider.

Jayaram again started well in the gird game and held a lead till the break, but Axelsen once again caught up. And what followed was a neck-and-neck battle from 12-12 to 18-18.

However, the Indian managed to hold on to his nerves to earn two quick points and move up to 20-18 before wrapping up the game in style at 21-19, and with it the match.

(With PTI Inputs)