The Indian challenge in New Zealand Open badminton in Auckland ended Friday with fifth seed Arvind Bhat losing in straight games to top seed Jen Hao Hsu of Chinese Taipei in the semi-finals of the $50,000 Grand Prix event.
Bhat, who had won the German Open, lost 14-21, 9-21 to Jen in a 33-minute men's singles match, according to information received here.
Another Indian in fray, Sourabh Varma, who was seeded second, was knocked out Thursday 18-21, 15-21 by 14th seed Kuei Chun Shih of Chinese Taipei.
