Vietnam Open | Ajay Jayaram through to final; Mithun Manjunath ousted
Indian badminton star Ajay Jayaram has reached the finals of the ongoing 2018 Vietnam Open after defeating Japan’s Yu Igarashi in straight games of 21-14, 21-19. However, fellow compatriot Mithun Manjunath has been knocked out after losing to Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito in the semi-finals.
Jayaram started-off on a positive note as he managed to keep the lead after losing the first point of the match. The first game was close until the 18th point with Jayaram leading 10-8. However, the Indian shuttler piled on the pressure and increased his lead by winning 5 successive points. Igarashi tried to fight back but the gap was far too big for him to overcome as he conceded the first game 14-21. The second game saw a fierce contest between the two shuttlers as both of them were 11 each just after the mid-game interval. However, Jayaram tightened the screws as he once again attained 5 consecutive points which gave him the required momentum. Igarashi did bounce back as he managed to decrease the deficit to just one point with the scoreboard reading 18-19. But Jayaram grabbed the opportunity as he won the 2nd game 21-19 to book the finals berth in the men’s singles category.
However, things did not go Mithun Manjunath's way as he lost to Indonesia’s Rhustavito in three games. After winning the first point of the match, Manjunath was not able to get the lead in the first game. However, it did seem that he would give a fight by coming to within a point of the Indonesian with the score reading 15-16, but the Indian could not grab the opportunity as Rhustavito won the first game 21-17. Manjunath did manage to keep his hopes alive as he won the second game 21-19. However, the third game was a complete disappointment for the Indian as he won the first point just before losing the next ten. Manjunath did fight back after the break but it was Rhustavito who won the decider 21-14.
