Senior Indian shuttler Arvind Bhat advanced to the semi-finals of the $120,000 German Open Grand Prix Gold after registering a straight-game victory over Danish 14th seed Viktor Axelsen in Mulheim an der Ruhr.
The two-time former National champion thrashed the 14th seeded Dane 21-17, 21-14 in a 35-minute men's singles quarter-final and will take on 15th seed Tien Chen Chou of Chinese Taipei at the RWE-Sporthalle.
World No. 24 Tien Chen Chou has beaten Arvind twice in the past but their last encounter was two years ago in Canada.
Given the Indian's current form, it would surely be an exciting semi-final match.
The 34-year-old from Bangalore has been in good form in this tournament; he produced some exciting performances to stun higher-ranked players, including world No 10 Hun Yu of Hong Kong.
In the first game, Arvind erased a four-point deficit from 8-12 to claw back and then reeled off four straight points at 15-15 to march ahead.
In the second game, he didn't give any chance to the Danish shuttler to make any comeback as he lead from the start and held his fort.
Image: Arvind Bhat
Photograph: Phil Walter/Getty Images
