Arvind reaches semifinals of German Open Grand Prix Gold

Mulheim an der Ruhr (Germany): Senior Indian shuttler Arvind Bhat advanced to the semifinals of the USD 120,000 German Open Grand Prix Gold after registering a straight-game victory over Danish 14th seed Viktor Axelsen here.

The two-time former national champion, Arvind thrashed the 14th seeded Danish 21-17 21-14 in a 35-minute men`s singles quarterfinal match and will be taking on 15th seed Tien Chen Chou of Chinese Taipei at the RWE-Sporthalle here. World No.24 Tien Chen Chou has beaten Arvind twice in the past but their last encounter was two years ago in Canada. And given the Indian`s current form, it would surely be an exciting semifinal match. The 34-year-old from Bangalore has been in good form in this tournament as he produced some exciting performances to stun higher ranked players, including world number 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, the Indian didn`t give any chance to the Danish shuttler to make any comeback as he lead from the start and held his fort.