Jayaram packs off World No. 9 at China Masters

India’s Ajay Jayaram outplayed World No.9 Kenichi Tago while his compatriot R M V Gurusaidutt beat higher-ranked Muhammad Hafiz Hashim in the men’s singles opening round at the China Masters badminton event on Wednesday. Parupalli Kashyap, India’s highest-ranked player in the tournament at 20, had to dig deep for a 21-13, 14-21, 21-19 win over 164th-ranked Gao Huan from China. The eighth seed next runs into Gurusaidutt, who outwitted Hashim of Malaysia 21-18, 19-21, 21-13 after a one-hour battle. World No.31 Hashim is ranked 25 places higher than the Indian. Jayaram, ranked 32nd, outplayed Tago 21-13, 21-17 for his second win against the Japanese in as many matches. He takes on Zi Liang Derek Wong of Singapore in the second round. World No. 40 Sourabh Varma defeated 28th-ranked Daren Liew of Malaysia 19-21, 21-17, 21-12, setting up a clash with Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Jen Hao. Anand Pawar, however, suffered a 17-21, 12-21 loss against second seed Jin Chen of China. From gulftoday