As Olympic race enters final leg,Jayaram-Kashyap go all in

The World NO.27 Ajay will once again face top-ranked lee Chong wei while his team mate will play Boonsak Ponsana

At the India Open,Parupalli Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram are involved in a one-on-one race to make the cut for the London Games in the mens singles category. Only one of them will make the trip to London as India has no mens singles player in the top-16 and Jayaram (ranked 27,four spots above Kashyap) was the favourite till World no. 1 Lee Chong Wei was slotted in the same side of the draw.

Over a 1,000 ranking points separate the two Indians and Kashyap reckons he needs to finish two rounds better than Jayaram at the India Open,the final tournament in which ranking points will be considered before the May 3 deadline,to nose ahead of his countryman.

On Wednesday,Kashyap wrapped up a 21-11,21-14 win over Yuhan Tan,ranked 16 places below him to set up a meeting with Boonsak Ponsana,who is ranked just ahead of the Indian. Though Ponsana won the last time the two played each other at the Thomas Cup,Kashyap leads their overall head-to-head 2-1.

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Jayaram,who defeated Sourabh Varma in the first round,will face the more tricky proposition of having to overcome Chong Wei in the second. The top ranked player took little more than half an hour to dispatch Husan Yi Hsueh in the first round.

Kashyap,when asked about the Chong Wei-Jayaram game,conceded that if his team mate got the better of the world No.1,there was no doubt who deserved to represent the country. His decision to parry the pointed question also had to do with the fact that they are roommates and friends,who share a unique relaxation routine.

I dont want people to think we are gamblers, Kashyap said jokingly,talking about the camaraderie he shares with Jayaram. Playing poker helps us relax. It is a passtime we both enjoy. May be well play a game before tomorrows matches, Kashyap said.

But it is not all fun and games for the pair. We do play poker but we also discuss the strategy of our respective opponents. Ill need as much help as I can before the game against Lee Chong Wei, Jayaram added.

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If Jayaram is able to pull off an upset over Chong Wei,it will mark a high point in the rising career graph of the 24-year-old. June last year,Kashyap was ranked 21 and Jayaram 38. However,as Jayaram recorded a string of impressive wins when he ran the likes of Chinas Lin Dan and Ching Wei close,Kashyap lost out due to injury and then rushed his comeback,anxious to bag ranking points in the Olympic year.

I think I played too many tournaments,some of them I rushed into after my injury, Kashyap said.

Jayaram believes that getting the better of Chong Wei is not beyond him. The last time I played him (Thomas Cup) I took a game off him, Jayaram,who also lost to Chong Wei in the last edition of the India Open,said

I want him (Jayaram) to win but that also means my road to the Olympics gets much tougher, Kashyap added.