Almere (Netherlands), Oct 8 (IANS): Indian shuttler Arvind Bhat progressed to the second round of men's singles at the $50,000 Dutch Open Grand Prix here Wednesday.
The 15th seeded Indian beat Scotland's Kieran Merrilees 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 in 28 minutes and will take on Hong Kong's Yan Kit Chan later in the day for a place in the pre-quarterfinals.
Bhat's compatriot and 13th seed Ajay Jayaram will play his first round later against Dutch Erik Meijs at the Topsportcentrum Almere.