Rajiv Ouseph is anticipating his toughest test yet at the London Grand Prix as he faces promising Chinese player Houwei Tian in the men’s singles semi-final at the Copper Box.
Fourth seed Ouseph booked his place in the final four and a clash with Houwei after defeating Zulfadli Zulkiffli 21-14, 21-13 in 38 minutes in the capital.
Ouseph is one of three British representatives in the semi-finals at the London Grand Prix with English teammates Chris Langridge and Heather Olver succeeding in the mixed doubles.
Scot Kirsty Gilmour reached the last four of the women’s singles but Ouseph admits he faces a stern challenge to go one better and advance to the final.
“Tian Houwei, who beat Jan Jorgensen, is playing well, and they have high hopes for him in China so it’s going to be a tough match,” said Ouseph.
“I knew quite a lot about Zulfadli, obviously he knew about me as well. At the beginning, I just tried to wear him out a bit.
“He came out quite quickly, as I expected him to, and it was just a case of wearing him down.
“The length of the match and how quickly I played told in the end, and I was able to win quite a few points at the end of both games, so I was very happy with that.”
© Sportsbeat 2013