BALIKPAPAN, INDONESIA: Ace Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram displayed a resilient performance to progress through to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Grand Prix Gold here on Wednesday.
Despite losing the closely-fought opening game, the third seeded Indian kept his momentum going and went on to defeat local favourite Reksy Aureza Megananda 18-21, 21-12, 21-19 in the third round men’s singles contest that lasted 54 minutes.
Jayaram is the lone Indian to remain in contention in the tournament and will next face 11th seed Yuqi Shi from China.
Earlier in the day, Jayaram trounced compatriot Parupalli Kashyap 21-7, 21-12 in a lopsided second round contest that lasted just 27 minutes.
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 German Open.
HS Prannoy, the 2014 champion, was also imperious in his second round victory over Joo Ven Soong. He defeated the Malaysian opponent 21-17, 21-9.
However, the seventh seeded Indian lost to Huang Yuxiang from China 21-19, 19-21, 21-23 in a gruelling pre-quarterfinal round that lasted 45 minutes.
B. Sai Praneeth also failed to reach the quarterfinals after suffering a 14-21, 13-21 defeat against fifth-seeded Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in the third round.
10th seeded Praneeth had earlier produced a spirited performance, bagging an 18-21, 21-14, 21-15 win over Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the second round.