I'm enjoying being here: Ajay Jayaram

After shifting his base to Bengaluru as a teenager to excel in badminton, Ajay Jayaram — now India’s top-ranked men’s singles player — is back in Mumbai after feeling home sick.

The hardworking shuttler started playing in Chembur Gymkhana as a kid, and never looked back since. He currently trains at North Indian Gymkhana, under Jitesh Padukone. He was training under Tom John in Bengaluru.

“I wanted to get back home since I’ve been away, playing and traveling for so long. I can’t say I have permanently shifted here but, yes, at the moment I am enjoying being here. I train as well as play with players like Anand Pawar,” he said.

After winning the Dutch Open twice, Ajay hasn’t been able to win a tournament overseas in last two years, and missed the Olympic berth closely last year. But he has had a phenomenal year since, accounting for top players and achieving his career best world ranking.

He now wants to feel relaxed and work on mental aspects to cross the barriers of semis and quarter-finals and win a few tournaments. “I have been doing the same training here what I was doing under Tom sir. I know now what is good for me,” he said.

At 29, Jayaram is currently ranked 13, and has outsmarted World No. 2, the Danish player Viktor Axelsen in Malaysia and World No. 7, the Chinese player, Tian Houwei, in Wuhan  recently. But he doesn’t want to stop there.“I want to break into top 10.

I am looking for that big Super Series tournament win and be more consistent,” said the Chembur resident who did his schooling from OLPS Boys High School.

“I fondly remember that first time I held the racket was in Chembur Gymkhana. My coach was George John. I was hesitant to join coaching as I had to run too much. During the first few years, I remember I used to cry after losing every tournament, in fact, every match. It has been an absolutely great journey ever since,” recalls Ajay, who was part of Mumbai Rockets in the Premier Badminton League (PBL).

His father Jayaram Gopal noticed the deception of the net flicks and drops in his son’s early armour. He still uses his deception at the net and creative mind to fox the opponents. He moved to Bengaluru after Class 12 for better academic opportunities with better facilities and players at the Prakash Padukone Academy.

Ajay may have always stayed home if Mumbai had an academy like Hyderabad and Bengaluru and who knows, he may start an academy in the city like stalwarts Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand did in their respective cities. Both Hyderabad and Bengaluru are now the nurseries of Indian badminton producing top class players. But at the moment he is just focusing on his career

“I am leaving for Australia for the Sudirman Cup on Thursday. I will also participate in the Super Series level events like the Indonesian Open and Australian Open. I am well placed at the moment,” said Jayaram who is  eyeing a big show in the World Championships, in August.

Career Overview:

• Yonex French Open Super Series 2010: Quarter-Final
• Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Super Series: Quarter-Final
• 2011 BWF World Championships: PreQuarter-Final
• Li-Ning China Masters: Semi-Final
• 2014 Dutch Open Grand Prix: Champion
• 2015 Korea Open Super Series: Final
• 2015 Dutch Open Grand Prix: Champion