Four shuttlers, handpicked at recent selection trials in Dhanbad, will represent Jharkhand in the 76th Senior National Badminton Championship that starts in Bangalore on Wednesday.
The players left for Bangalore from Ranchi on Tuesday.
While Shafi Akram of the capital and Chandrajit Jha of Chaibasa have made the cut in the men's outfit, Insha Imam and Shabnam Naaz, both Ranchi girls, have bagged the slot in the women's squad.
"Nearly 100 boys and girls turned up at the trial but we had zeroed in on the four whom we thought were the best. The selected shuttlers will play singles and doubles in men and women categories," said K. Prabhakar Rao, the secretary of Jharkhand Badminton Association (JBA).
Rao, who emerged from a difficult situation in which his detractors challenged his position as JBA secretary, will officiate as a tournament committee member during the senior nationals that will conclude on January 25.
It is for the first time that any functionary from JBA or even the erstwhile Bihar Badminton Association has found a slot in the panel of a senior national tourney.
"I am glad that the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has selected me in the tournament committee. It is an honour," Rao said, adding he would leave for the venue on Wednesday.
JBA joint secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and Prem Kumar are to play the roles of team manager and coach, respectively.
Significantly, Rao, also a joint secretary of the BAI, had been waging a battle within JBA over the formation of an ad hoc panel.
BAI eventually granted provisional affiliation to the Rao-faction of JBA.
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