Shuttler Ajay Jayaram surprises Chou, enters Korea Open final

Seoul, Sep 19: Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram threw up a surprise to shock seventh seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei and enter his maiden Superseries final at the $600,000 Korea Open here on Saturday.

Jayaram took just 44 minutes to move past World No.7 Chen 21-19, 21-15 at the S.K. Handball Stadium to earn his third victory in five meetings over the Chinese Taipei shuttler.

The Mumbaikar now faces a huge task as he will take on Chinese top seed and reigning doubles World Champion Chen Long in the men’s singles summit clash on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Indian had a good start taking an 11-8 lead at the first game break. But Chou somehow found the legs to win the next seven points and take a 15-11 lead.

Jayaram fought back and did not allow Chou to extend the lead, levelling at 17-17 and bagged four out of the next six points to go ahead in the encounter.

The second game also proved to be a topsy-turvy contest as Jayaram looked good with a 10-16 and then a 12-9 lead. But the seventh seed once again won the next five points to go 14-12 up.

The Indian again checked Chou and from 14-15 down, World No.32 Jayaram smashed his way through by clinching seven straight points to set a date with the World No.1.