Malaysia Open: Indian hope Ajay Jayaram loses to South Korea's Son Wan Ho in quarters

Kuching: Shuttler Ajay Jayaram lost to South Korean fifth seed Son Wan Ho in the men`s singles quarter-finals to bring an end to India`s campaign at the Malaysia Open Superseries here on Friday.

World No.20 Jayaram, the lone Indian to have crossed the first-round barrier of the tournament, was handed a 18-21, 14-21 defeat in 37 minutes by Son.

The Indian had a tough beginning, trailing 5-11 at the mid-game break in the first game. He showed stomach for fight as he reduced the deficit to one at 13-14.

However, Son edged ahead to hold a 17-13 advantage but Jayaram battled back to equalise at the 17-point mark. At this crunch time, world No.5 Son showed his quality to snatch three consecutive points to take the first game 21-18.

The second game was more closely fought at the beginning, with the Indian trailing 8-11. After the break, Son pulled ahead as he stepped up the gas, aided by Jayaram`s unforced errors.

A 17-9 lead meant that the game was buried as Son had it easy to canter to a 21-14 facile win to enter the semi-finals.

The women`s singles semi-finals match-ups will be Chinese Taipei`s Tai Tzu Ying facing South Korean Sung ji Hyun and Spanish star Carolina Marin taking on Nozomi Okuhara of Japa.