Indian challenge ends at Hong Kong Super Series 2013

Ajay Jayaram (File Photo)

The round two of the Hong Kong Super Series 2013 began on Thursday morning, 21^st November, 2013. The Indian fans eagerly waited for the round two clashes to witness India marching closer to the title.

Saina Nehwal and Ajay Jayaram had their matches in the afternoon session of the scheduled third day of the tournament.

Ajay Jayaram played against the Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro in first Indian representation of the day. Kuncoro started with a first game lead of 4-0. Ajay struggled throughout the game and was far behind the opponent in the middle of the game with a big margin score of 18-10. He tried to make a comeback and displayed some quick returns in the end of the game. But at last, he failed to make the desired level of recovery and lost by 21-18.

In the second game, the Indonesian continued his form and dominated from the word go. He continued widening the margin by the disciplined game and made the match difficult for Ajay. The final score of the game was 21-18 and 21-12 in the favour of Kuncoro and by this win, he managed to advance to the round three of the tournament.

After the victory of Markis Kido and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth on court-2 of Hong Kong Coliseum, it was now the only Indian hope in the tournament, Saina Nehwal to play against the World No. 13 Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand.

In the first game, the score levelled by 10-10 at an intermediate stage. Porntip changed the gears from here and score some points quickly to make it 21-17, registering the first game in her name.

Saina looked in a better touch in the second game. She was swift as the game started. She displayed some fabulous smashes and won the game by 21-9. The last decisive game was balanced in the beginning as both the players were in a mood to make their way towards victory. Porntip presented a better game in the rest of the game to bag this match in her favour. She won the match by 21-17, 9-21 and 21-15.

Both Saina and Ajay failed to make their way to the third round of the tournament by their ordinary performances and hence the Indian representation is ruled out of the Hong Kong Super Series 2013.