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Malaysia Open: Ajay Jayaram beats world number 2 Viktor Axelsen to enter quarters

Ajay Jayaram, who continues to be the top-ranked Indian at No. 19, defeated world number 2 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 9-21, 21-14, 21-19 to move into the men's singles quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open Superseries here on Thursday.

Malaysia Open:Ajay Jayaram beats world number 2 Viktor Axelsen to enter quarters Malaysia Open:Ajay Jayaram beats world number 2 Viktor Axelsen to enter quarters

Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram, who continues to be the top-ranked Indian at No. 19, defeated world number 2 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 9-21, 21-14, 21-19 to move into the men's singles quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open Superseries here on Thursday.

The match which lasted around 44 minutes at the Stadium Perpaduan - 3 here, saw a fightback from the Indian shuttler after dropping the opening game 9-11.

But Jayaram gave a much better display in the second and third games to settle the issue.

In the first game, it was a neck and neck competition but soon Axelsen took complete control of the opening game with some attacking shots.

But the second game saw a great fightback from the Indian shuttler to bag the game 21-14. 

Continuing his dominance, Jayaram hit some great shots and showed swift court movements in the decider game. He maintained his 11-8 lead in the mid-game break and then prevailed over the fourth seed 21-19 to cause a massive upset.