Raj eye North Zone badminton title

Jaipur: The new-look Rajasthan badminton squad is eying glory at the North Zone Inter-State Badminton Team Championship which will get underway in Chandigarh on Wednesday.The five-day annual tournament, organized by the Badminton Association of India, will test the strength of Rajasthan team as they lock horns with formidable Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.The winner of the North Zone automatically qualifies for the 86th Senior National Badminton Championship scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from December 18 to 24. The team championship will be played in four categories – men’s, women’s, U-19 boys and U-19 girls -- in the knock-out format.This year’s North Zone tournament also assumes added importance as the champion team will seal a berth in the National Games slated to be held in Uttarakhand.Rajasthan have junior India players Sanskar Saraswat and Parul Choudhary in their ranks. Jodhpur teenager Sanskar has found a place in both men’s and boys teams. Southpaw Parul, who recently represented India at the Asian U-17 Badminton Championships in China, will have to spearhead Rajasthan girls side.Besides Sanskar and Parul, the team also consists of talented national-level shuttlers like Pranay Katta, Manish Phogat and Harsh Chaplot who are capable of challenging any opponent.Rajasthan coach Tribhuvan Bisht is optimistic about his team’s chances in the zonal tournament.“We have a solid team this year. I am expecting to win the title as we have quality players in all the four teams. We will get tough competition from hosts Chandigarh, Haryana and Delhi. If we play to our full potential, we can surprise any team,” said Bisht, who is himself a national champion in the veteran’s category.Rajasthan will take on Himachal Pradesh in both the men’s and boys’ section on Wednesday. The Rajasthan women will face Delhi in their inaugural encounter, while Rajasthan girls will clash with Himachal.Rajasthan squad: Himanshu Khatana, Seema Sharma, Vanshika Chhiba, Pranay Katta, Somya Bhatnagar, Jaagrit Binnani, Tanisha Singh, Sanskar Saraswat, Shubham Patel, Denish Shrivastava, Harsh Chaplot, Vansh Sharma, Aryan Tyagi, Sachin Jhajharia, Murali Sharma, Manish Phogat, Parul Choudhary, Suhasi Verma, Kavya Swami, Poonam Swami, Shaagun Singh, Shrishthi Singh, Nancy Kachhawaha. Officials: Jakir Hussain, Tribhuvan Bisht, Aaradhana Bhatnagar.Participating teams: Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Chandiragh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir. Day 1 fixture (Team Championship): Men’s: Rajasthan vs Himachal Pradesh; Women’s: Rajasthan vs DelhiU-19 boys: Rajasthan vs Himachal Pradesh; U-19 girls: Rajasthan vs Himachal Pradesh.