Jayaram enters quarters of Malaysia Open

Kuching (Malaysia): India’s Ajay Jayaram on Thursday entered the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open Super Series with a hard-fought victory over Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in a men’s singles match here. The unseeded Jayaram stunned Axelsen, seeded fourth, 9-21 21-14 21-19 in a match that lasted 44 minutes at the Stadium Perpaduan. Jayaram will next clash with fifth seeded Son Wan Ho of South Korea. After going down tamely in the opening game, Jayaram got his act together to take an early lead in the second game and jump to 8-3. He continued to maintain his lead until the Danish caught up with him at 11-11. (PTI)