Ajay Jayaram. The name is not the most famous of India's names when it comes to badminton, is it? Very soon, the world is going to hear more about the Indian shuttler, especially if he continues to demolish top class players the way he has done in the Korea Open.
After defeating sixth seed Viktor Axelsen from Denmark in the first round of the competition, Jayaram has stepped to a never-seen-before-gear, which has helped him defeat other players such as Wong Win Ki Vincent from Chinese Taipei and Sho Sasaki from Japan in the next two rounds.
Hence, Jayaram is on the verge of a major championship final as he faces the seventh seed Chou Tien Chen, who might pose as a major problem en route to the final. However, the Indian player has a 2-2 head-to-head record against Tien Chen, which should give him further encouragement to go for a win, especially since he is on purple patch at present.
After making it so far, Jayaram will need to stay in that top gear and maybe he can go all the way and win the Korea Open.
Jayaram, who was not only unseeded in the competition, but also the least known amongst the Indian players, will know it a difficult task, though.
Jayaram has been flying the Indian flag high in the competition, after higher-ranked players such as Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and Parupalli Kashyap were all ousted in the first round.
In the women's singles also, India's big hope, PV Sindhu, lost in the second round, after which there has been huge pressure on Jayaram, who has been standing tall each and every match, to bring glory to India.
Where to Watch Live
Ajay Jayaram vs Chou Tien Chen semi final is scheduled for the last match of the day with the first match scheduled at 12pm local time (8:30amIST).
Viewers in India can watch the entire action live on Star Sports2/HD with live streaming on starsports.com
Live scorecard can be followed in the official website.
