Shuttler Bhat advances to New Zealand GP semis

Auckland: Recently crowned German Open Grand Prix Gold winner Arvind Bhat came out with another fantastic performance to enter the men`s singles semifinal of the $50,000 New Zealand Badminton Open Grand Prix here Thursday.

The fifth seeded Bhat beat Malaysian third seed Chun Seang Tan in 56 minutes to win the quarterfinal clash 22-20, 9-21, 21-18 in their first match at the North Shore Events Centre. Earlier in the day, the Banglorean beat another Malaysian Tang Jie Chen 21-8, 21-14 in 21 minutes to proceed to the last eight. The Indian has a tough ask ahead as he will take on Chinese Taipei`s top seed Jen Hao Hsu against whom Bhat has a 1-2 career record. Meanwhile, second seed Sourabh Varma, who hails from Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, was upset by Chinese Taipei`s 14th seed Kuei Chun Shih in the third round. Kuei won their first encounter 21-18, 21-15 in 38 minutes.