SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, June 8: Badminton boys and girls teams of Jharkhand got a flying start by winning their respective matches in the 66th School Games Federation India (SGFI) national championship which began at Gwalior today.
Jharkhand boys’ badminton team outclassed Bihar in their first match 2-0 while the girls’ team also defeated Delhi (Vidya Bharti) with the same margin (2-0). The girls’ team would now play Rajasthan in their next match.
The report reaching Ranchi headquarters said in the match against Bihar, Jharkhand’s star player Emmanuel J Kujur beat Amrit Raj of Bihar in the first singles match by 30-29 in an exciting encounter
In the doubles event, Jharkhand’s pair of Niraj Kesri and Harshit Raj beat Bihar’s pair of Amrit Raj and Aman by 30-16. Jharkhand pair of Niraj and Harshit displaying their class of play dominated the match right from the start against Bihar’s pair and never allowed them to settle in the court.
The girls’ team also maintained their supremacy in the game against Delhi and clinched both matches in fashion.
Star player Ananya Singh of Jharkhand playing first singles outclassed Harshita of Delhi 30-18. In the second match, the Jharkhand pair of Ananya and Shruti beat the Harshita and Palak pair of Delhi 30-18. Jharkhand pair of Ananya and Shruti took the lead in the initial stage of the match and maintained it till the last.
Earlier girls’ team had defeated host Madya Pradesh 2-1.
Jharkhand teams coach Mrinal Mohan Khalkho ( boys) and Uma Rani Palit (girls), highly appreciated the performance of the teams and said that they played to their potential.
