World number 51 Anand raised his game and rode on his smashes to outclass Viktor, who is ranked 22nd, 21-11 22-20 in a 35-minute men's singles match at the RWE-Sporthalle late last night.
The Mumbai shuttler will next take on Hsuan Yi Hsueh of Chinese Taipei later today.
However, it was curtains for senior shuttler Arvind Bhat, who suffered a 10-21 16-21 loss to second seed Boonsak Ponsana in another men's singles match which lasted for just over half an hour.
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