SUBHASH MISHRA
Hazaribagh, Aug 25: Krish Dubey and Sarah Sharma of Jamshedpur, along with Manisha Rani Tirkey of Ranchi, bagged double titles at the State Senior and Under-19 Badminton Championship, which concluded here on Sunday evening.
Dubey clinched both the men’s singles and under-19 boys’ singles crowns, while Manisha Rani lifted the women’s singles and women’s doubles titles. Sarah Sharma secured the girls’ under-19 singles and the senior mixed doubles championships.
Dubey emerges as new state champion
Krish Dubey emerged as the new men’s champion after a thrilling singles final against former champion Akash Pandit of Giridih. Dubey won 21-15, 19-21, 24-22 in a closely contested match. It was a special comeback for Pandit, who reached the final after four years.
Earlier, Dubey had defeated Suraj Pratap Singh 21-12, 19-21, 21-19 in the under-19 boys’ final to claim his second title. His performance has marked him as a rising star in Jharkhand badminton.
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Manisha extends her dominance
In the women’s singles final, Manisha Rani Tirkey maintained her dominance, defeating Sarah Sharma 21-15, 15-21, 21-13. She later paired with Ananya Singh to overcome the duo of Aprajita and Prajukta in the women’s doubles final, completing her double crown.
Sarah Sharma, meanwhile, claimed the girls’ under-19 singles title after beating Ananya Singh 21-15, 21-14. She also paired with Safi Akram to secure the senior mixed doubles crown, defeating the pair of Emmanuel Kujur and Yogita Bora.
Dhanbad players make a mark
For the first time, players from Dhanbad impressed at the state championship. Pihu Singh captured the under-19 girls’ doubles title, while Sujal Rakshit finished as runner-up in boys’ doubles.
Anamika Ghosh reached her maiden semifinal in women’s singles before losing to Sarah Sharma, while Shruti advanced to the quarterfinals before bowing out to eventual champion Manisha Rani.
Prize distribution and officiating team
At the prize distribution ceremony, All India Badminton Association joint secretary K. Prabhakar Rao attended as chief guest and presented trophies to the winners. Rao praised Hazaribagh Badminton Association secretary Y.S. Jaggi for successfully organizing the tournament.
Match officials included referee Avinash Tiwari, along with Ajit Kumar, Wasim Akram, Maksudan Murmu, Abhishek Kumar, Wahid Ansari, Mintu Vishwakarma, Jitendra Kachhap, Priyanka Kumari, and Narendra Prasad Gupta.
Results
- Men’s Singles: Winner – Krish Dubey; Runner-up – Akash Pandit
- Women’s Singles: Winner – Manisha Rani Tirkey; Runner-up – Sarah Sharma
- Under-19 Boys’ Singles: Winner – Krish Dubey; Runner-up – Suraj Pratap Singh
- Under-19 Girls’ Singles: Winner – Sarah Sharma; Runner-up – Ananya Singh
- Men’s Doubles: Winners – Harshit Raj & Niraj Keshri; Runners-up – Kirtan Agrawal & Raunak Negi
- Women’s Doubles: Winners – Manisha Rani Tirkey & Ananya Singh; Runners-up – Aprajita & Prajukta
- Boys’ Doubles: Winners – Sachin Gope & Abu Raiyan; Runners-up – Sujal Rakshit & Pratap Singh
- Girls’ Doubles: Winners – Pihu Singh & Samridhi; Runners-up – Anisha & Shristhi Suman
- Senior Mixed Doubles: Winners – Safi Akram & Sarah Sharma; Runners-up – Emmanuel Kujur & Yogita Bora
- Junior Mixed Doubles: Winners – Yuvraj Kumar & Yogita Bora; Runners-up – Swapnil Nayak & Ananya Singh