India is powerhouse of badminton: Ajay Jayaram

New Delhi [India], December 28 (ANI): Shuttler Ajay Jayaram believes that Indian players are currently ruling the world of badminton and the country has emerged as a powerhouse in the recent years.

Talking to ANI, he said, "Over the last couple of years and this year, you have seen Indians playing the semis and the finals of tournaments and winning almost every other Super Series. In the men's singles and women's singles they have done exceptionally well this year."

The 30-year-old added that there is not much difference between India and other countries when it comes to quality players.

"Earlier there were five Indians in world's top 20 in the men's singles, which no other country had. So if you compare with other countries there's not much difference. Over the past five-six years, this change has happened. And the way juniors are shaping up, I am sure that it is going to get better in the future," he said.

Asked about his performance in the concluding year, Jayaram said he had been injured for a major part of 2017 which kept him out of action, but he is wishing 2018 to turn out better.

"I was ranked career-best ranking of 13 but then I suffered a knee injury and its troubling me since then so I had to skip a lot of tournaments. I am still recuperating from it and I hope 2018 turns out better than this year," he quipped.

Sharing his future plans for the coming year, Jayaram informed that his priority right now is to get back into fitness rather than jumping from tournament to tournament.

Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram is currently involved in the Premier Badminton League (PBL) and is part of the North Eastern Warriors team. (ANI)