SUBHASH MISHRA
Giridih, Nov 11: Top shuttlers Emmanuel J. Kujur of West Singhbhum, Krish Dubey of Jamshedpur, and Yuvraj Kumar of Ranchi, along with five others, stormed into the quarterfinals of the Yonex Sunrise Jharkhand State Senior Badminton Championship being held in Giridih.
In the pre-quarterfinals, former champion Emmanuel Kujur edged past Deepak Mahto of Ranchi in a thrilling three-set encounter, 12–15, 15–10, 15–09. Deepak dominated the opening set with aggressive play, but once Kujur found his rhythm, he turned the match around by taking full control of the next two sets to seal his place in the last eight.
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Top seed Krish Dubey showcased his dominance, defeating Sajan Kumar of Ranchi in straight sets, 15–09, 15–09. In another fixture, Shantanu Sharma of Seraikela comfortably beat Sanjay Hembrak of West Singhbhum, 15–07, 15–11.
The match between Raunak Negi of Jamshedpur and Jimmy Geral Ekka of Ranchi was one of the most gripping contests of the day. Negi took the first set 15–13, but Ekka fought back strongly to level 15–09. In a tense decider, both players battled for every point before Negi eventually clinched victory 15–13.
Suraj Pratap Singh of East Singhbhum also advanced after rallying back from a set down to defeat Aniket Singh of Ranchi 12–15, 15–05, 15–03. Once Suraj settled into the game, he dominated the final two sets with ease.
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Ranchi’s Ansu Gopal cruised past compatriot Sagar Banjara 15–08, 15–14, while Yuvraj Kumar of Ranchi overpowered Ankit Gope 15–06, 15–07. In another hard-fought clash, Shri Ram Ratan of Ranchi defeated Harshit Raj of Gumla 12–15, 15–09, 15–14 to complete the quarterfinal lineup.
