New Delhi: Indian shuttler Arvind Bhat advanced to the second round of the Polish International Badminton championships in Warsaw on Friday.

The seventh-seeded Indian defeated Austrian Juergen Koch 21-18, 21-17 to open his campaign in the $15,000 event.

The 43rd-ranked Bhat would want to use the event as a preparation for the India Open Grand Prix tournament to be held in Hyderabad from April 1 to 6.

Bhat needed 37 minutes to prevail over his 74th ranked opponent. He completely dominated the Austrian, hitting 16 smash winners to Koch's 12 and 12 net winners to the Austrian's seven. The Indian won 42 rallies to his opponent's 35.

Bhat will next face Finland's 79th-ranked qualifier Ville Lang, who defeated Australian Stuart Gomez 22-24, 21-12, 21-11 in 45 minutes.
Source : PTI