Ajay Jayaram ousts Kenichi Tago in Men’s Singles first round of the 2011 World Championships
India’s rising star, Ajay Jayaram, proved too strong for the higher ranked Japan’s Kenichi Tago, as he crushed the shuttler in the Men’s Singles first round of the 2011 World Championships, at the Wembley Indoor Arena, in London, on Monday, August 8.
Jayaram, who is enjoying Number 35 spot in the Men’s Singles world rankings, toppled the 15th seed Japanese in scintillating fashion by finishing the match in straight games. The Indian displayed impressive and world-class badminton to send Tago
packing by consuming 40 minutes in the court.
World Number 18, Tago, could not stop the aggressive Indian from playing attacking badminton and he remained struggling in returning the powerful and perfectly executed strokes of Jayaram, who was moving around in the court with surprising ease.
In the first game, Jayaram established a quick lead in the start of the match and maintained it throughout the whole set. Tago could not find his momentum as he failed to reach the bird several times. He also made many unforced errors coupled with wrong
shot placements, which helped the Indian to get one point after the other. At the one-minute break, Jayaram was far ahead of the Japanese shuttler at 11-6.
After the break, the Indian remained in the right state of mind by remaining calm and composed, which helped him in controlling his nerves. His powerful, accurate and planned game earned him the opening set advantage as he finished it by taking 18 minutes
by the score of 21-12.
The second set was a wonderful fight between experience and aggression, as Tago was relying on his drives while Jayaram was executing powerful smashes whenever he got a chance to. The score moved forward without giving an advantage to any shuttler.
In the concluding phase, Jayaram played better and clinched the ending points to finish-off the set with a 21-19 score in 22 minutes. The Indian won this wonderful Men’s Singles straight-set match with the score of 21-12 and 21-19 in 40 minutes.
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