All you need to know about IBL sensation Ajay Jayaram

If there is one player who has used the Indian Badminton League as the perfect stage to highlight his talent, it’s Ajay Jayaram.

The Mumbai-based shuttler, who plays for Hyderabad Hotshots, has been in excellent form during the league stages and also won his match in the semi-final — a record which makes him one of the most valuable players in the IBL.

Here are some interesting facts about the 25-year-old:

- Though Jayaram entered the IBL on the back of a defeat against Pablo Abian in the second round of the World Championships, his confidence had already received a boost after he beat world no 12 Wing Ki Wong in the first round in Guangzhou.

- He has beaten world no 5 Tien Minh Nguyen twice in the IBL — without dropping a game. He also beat world no 9 Jan O Jorgensen 21-11, 21-8. He even took a game off world no 1 Lee CHong Wei in the tournament. His only blip came against K Srikanth.

- After P Kashyap, Jayaram is the second highest ranked male Indian. His current world ranking is 24.

- Jayaram has shown shades of a young Prakash Padukone early in his career. You may attribute that to his deceptive game, but as he progresses you can see a more attacking side crop up too. Jayaram, though not aggressive, can surprise opponents by suddenly upping the tempo of his game. However, he has quite a way to go when it comes to retrieval, as was evident against Lee Chong Wei.

“My game is based on deception and I lacked aggressive shots. To compete against the best in the world, you need to have a blend of deceptive shots and aggressive strokes,” he told Mail Online in an interview in 2012 .

- Jayaram is coached by Tom John, the former chief coach of England’s national squad.

- Despite being rivals when it comes to selection for the Olympics, Jayaram and Kashyap are good friends and enjoy playing poker. “Playing poker helps us relax. It is a pastime we both enjoy. May be we’ll play a game before tomorrow’s matches. But I don’t want people to think we’re gamblers!” Kashyap once said .

- Jayaram’s favourite destination is Las Vegas.

- Kashyap made the Olympics at the expense of Jayaram due to a walk-over the former got at the Super Series before the games in London. Jayaram made an early exit while Kashyap reached the semis. Before the tournament, Jayaram was the top-ranked Indian male shuttler, but after it, he had been leapfrogged by Kashyap.

Kashyap admitted that he would have liked to beat an opponent and make it, and was slightly lucky to have gone through.

- Jayaram likes to crack CAT-level math problems in his spare time. He’s also a big Batman and Harry Potter fan. No idea yet what he thinks of Ben Affleck has the newest Batman though.