Having retired midway from the India Open last week, the second seed was forced to withdraw here due to a ligament strain and slight spasms in his back.
Injury woes continued for Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram as he pulled out of the Tata Open India International badminton challenge at the Cricket Club of India on Wednesday.
Having retired midway from the India Open last week, the second seed was forced to withdraw here due to a ligament strain and slight spasms in his back. His game against Indonesia’s Arif Ramadhan lasted only two minutes. He retired after playing just three rallies in the first game (0-3).
“I had hurt my back in Hyderabad. It is nothing serious, but I am not completely alright. I thought I had recovered but I guess I will have to rest further,” he said.
The world No 35 said that he was extremely happy with his performance this year and was eager to recover in time for the 2011 Nationals.
“It has been a great year in terms of ranking and performance. I was ranked 77th at the start of the year and I have worked my way to finish at 35. Also, winning the Czech Open and Smiling Fish International Series has boosted my confidence,” he said.
Jayaram said he believed that his training with Portuguese National coach Tom John has helped him immensely.
“Tom has been instrumental in changing my game. I have become quicker and more aggressive. I believe I am doing the right things on court and I need to keep the positive attitude going. I am still in the improving phase and for the past few months, I have been constantly working on the court,” he added.
Jayaram took part in around 15 tournaments in 2010, which meant more travelling and more expenditure. “I have mostly been funding myself. Thankfully, I got sponsorship from a French club called Lagardere Paris Racing. They take care of my European tours. But otherwise, I have to pay through my pockets,” he said.
A trainee of the TATA Padukone Badminton Centre in Bangalore, Jayaram felt that his win over world No 15 Marc Zwiebler of Germany at the Dutch Open was his most significant one.
He also said that he got to learn a lot from his match against Malaysian Lee Chong Wei. “Wei is in a different league altogether. His pace is amazing. I got to learn a lot him.”
Results:
First round: Men's singles:
8-Anup Sridhar (Ind) bt Misbun Ramdan (Mas) 21-19 21-15; 1-Yunus Alamsyah (Ina) bt Aditya Prakash (Ind) 3-1 retired; 7-Wong Zi Liang Derek (Sin) bt Zainuddin Iskandar Zulkarnain (Mas) 21-12 22-20; 5-Tommy Sugiarto (Ina) bt Daniel Gouw (USA) 21-6 21-9; 4-Arvind Bhat (Ind) bt Rohan Castelino (Ind) 21-17 21-16; 6-Stanislav Pukhov (Rus) bt Rhustavito Shesar Hiren (Ina) 21-15 21-17; Arif Ramadhan (Ina) bt 2-Ajay Jayaram (Ind) 3-0 retired; Women's singles: 1-Fransiska Ratnasari (Ina) bt Rawinda Prajongjai (Tha) 21-17 21-14; PC Thulasi (Ind) bt 2-Jindapol Nitchaon (Tha) 15-21 21-19 21-19; 4-Trupti Murgunde (Ind) bt Mohita Sahdev (Ind) 21-14 21-13; 3-Ana Rovita (Ina) bt Sheshadri Sanyal (Ind) 11-8 retired; Second round: Men's singles: 6-Stanislav Pukhov (Rus) bt Sagar Chopda (Ind) 21-17 21-14; 1-Yunus Alamsyah (Ina) bt Goh Soon Huat (Mas) 21-16 21-11; 7-Wong Zi Liang Derek (Sin) bt Riyanto Subagja (Ina) 21-9 21-16; 8-Anup Sridhar (Ind) bt K Nandagopal (Ind) 21-17 13-21 21-13; 5-Tommy Sugiarto (Ina) bt Abdul Latif Mohamad Arif (Mas) 21-9 21-11; 4-Arvind Bhat (Ind) bt Lim Fang Yang (Mas) 16-21 21-16 21-16
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}