NHAT NGUYEN MADE short work of his Nepalese opponent Prince Dahal to move to within one win of the men’s badminton quarter-finals at the Paris Olympics.

Nguyen swatted aside Dahal in just 35 minutes, winning in straight sets, 21-7 and 21-5.

Nguyen, who opened his campaign with a harder-earned victory over Misha Zilberman of Israel, will likely have to beat Denmark’s reigning Olympic champion and two-time World Championship gold medallist Viktor Axelsen to reach the last eight.

Only the group winners reach the quarter-finals, and Axelsen — who beat Dahal 21-8 and 21-6 in his group opener — will later tonight take to the court against Zilberman for his second match in Group P.

Victory for the Dane would set up a winner-takes-all showdown on Wednesday morning with Nguyen, who already has maximum points from his first two matches.