SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Aug 22: Ace Jharkhand shuttlers Niraj Kesri of Ranchi and Saraah Sharma of Jharkhand have been selected to participate in the prestigious Kotak India Junior International Series Badminton Championship.
The prestigious Kotak India Junior International Series Badminton Championship, hosted by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), is scheduled to be held in Hyderabad from August 22 to August 27. Both the Jharkhand players left for Hyderabad on Monday.
Both boys and girls players have got eligibility to participate in the Kotak India International Series Championship on the basis of their round-the-year performance in the state as well as national tournaments.
Niraj Kesri is a student of Ranchi Residential Badminton Training Centre (RRTC) of seasoned coach Bharat Shah while Jamshedpur’s Saraah Sharma is a student of Gopi Chand Badminton Academy Hyderabad.
Both the players are top-ranked in the junior category of boys and girls respectively. In the state under-19 badminton championship concluded two days ago (August 20) in Godda district, Niraj Kesri and Saraah Sharma emerged champions in boys’ and girls’ events respectively.
Ranchi Residential Badminton Training Centre (RRTC) student Niraj Kesri won the singles title and became runner-up in the doubles event while Saraah Sharma of Jamshedpur wore double crowns winning singles and mixed doubles titles.
Deputy director of Sports Authority of Jharkhand Rajkishore Khakha, State Sports Coordinator Devendra Singh, Ranchi Residential Badminton Training Centre (RRTC) chief coach Bharat Shah and Ranchi district sports officer congratulated Niraj Kesri and Sarah Sharma for their achievement,
“Both the players are budding talents and participation in this junior international tournament would provide them exposure to move up ahead,” said Ranchi’s seasoned coach Bharat Shah. Additionally, he said that their selection for the international tournament would encourage other players of Jharkhand to do well.
