French Open badminton: Jayaram advances, Kashyap out

While Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram advanced to the second round, it was the end of the road for Parupalli Kashyap in the first round of men's singles at the $200,000 French Open Super Series here Tuesday.

Mumbai's Jayaram beat Japanese Kazumasa Sakai with relative ease in 37 minutes at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. The World No.25 Indian won 21-16, 21-11 in their first-ever encounter.

Meanwhile, India's highest ranked male shuttler Kashyap's bad run continues as he lost his opener against World No.1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. The World No.13 fought well in the first game, dragging the top seed to the end but eventually lost out.

In the second game, Kashyap was drained of his energy and lost against the Malaysian 20-22, 12-21 in 38 minutes. The duo was playing their first match against each other since their quarterfinal meeting at the London Olympics, where Kashyap suffered a similar story.

Jayaram will take on Lee in the next round. It will be their third career meet, the first two going in favour of the Malaysian top seed.