Shuttler Jayaram loses in Vietnam Open final

Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram lost to Indonesian Shesar Hiren Rhustavito in straight games in the final of the Vietnam Open here on Sunday.

World No.79 Rhustavito defeated No.93 Jayaram 21-14, 21-10 in 28 minutes to win the title at the Nguyen Du Cultural Sports Club.

In the first game, Jayaram and Rhustavito fought well till the mid-game interval. But Rhustavito raced to 21-14 victory with a dominating show after the break.

The Indonesian kept up the momentum as he took a 14-5 lead to make the win a mere formality. Jayaram surrendered at 10-21 in the second game.

Jayaram wrote in an Instagram post after the defeat: "Silver it is. Hurts to describe today's match. Started badly, never found any rhythm and couldn't find a way to get myself back into the match. All credit to the Indonesian for staying on top.

"It's easy to be hard on yourself when you have a bad loss. While being critical of yourself is important, I think I do need to look at the positives from the week," the 30-year-old added.

"I've managed to play some quality badminton these past couple of months. Need to keep the hard work going and I'm sure I'll keep getting stronger."

--IANS

pur/sed