BALIKPAPAN: Ace Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram trounced compatriot Parupalli Kashyap in straight games to progress through to the third round of the Indonesia Grand Prix Gold here on Wednesday.
Third seed Jayaram displayed a superior performance as he overcame Kashyap 21-7, 21-12 in a lopsided men’s singles 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.
Jayaram will next face local favourite Reksy Aureza Megananda for a place in the quarterfinals later in the day.
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.