INTRODUCTION
SAARC was held between 5-8 May, while ASIAN was held right after the conclusion of SAARC from 8-11 May. Venue of both these competitions were at The Pride Hotel, Kolkata, India. Hosted by Carrom Association of Bengal and organized by All India Carrom Federation (AICF).
HISTORY OF SAARC
Now if you're wondering what SAARC stands for - well it's an abbreviation for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Currently SAARC member countries comprises of Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan which was the latest country to join in 2007. Now that's a little bit of history for you and ironically I just found it out myself. So welcome to some general knowledge.
SAARC was held between 5-8 May, while ASIAN was held right after the conclusion of SAARC from 8-11 May. Venue of both these competitions were at The Pride Hotel, Kolkata, India. Hosted by Carrom Association of Bengal and organized by All India Carrom Federation (AICF).
HISTORY OF SAARC
Now if you're wondering what SAARC stands for - well it's an abbreviation for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Currently SAARC member countries comprises of Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan which was the latest country to join in 2007. Now that's a little bit of history for you and ironically I just found it out myself. So welcome to some general knowledge.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
The recently concluded championships were held in Calcutta (Kolkata) during the 1st week of May and it lasted for 2 weeks beginning with SAARC and then the Asian championships. Unfortunately as most of the time, Malaysia could not send a team. This is not something new to us. Been there and the feeling sucks.
RESULTS
I managed to get the final results of both these championships and I'll post the results and some pictures of the winners, just to spice things up. There were huge upsets created and it's certainly not looking good for the defending champions - India. Their defense is now very much penetrable but only with the likes of Sri Lanka where during the 2012 World Championships in Sri Lanka, we had a new World Champion hailing from Sri Lanka - Mr. Nishanta Fernando.
So it's no luck if during that time when he emerged as the Champion, someone could have just uttered the word "luck". After posting of the results, I very much doubt it.
Men's Team Event
Champions - India
Runner Up - Sri Lanka
3rd Place - Maldives
Women's Team Event
First Place - India
Runner Up - Sri Lanka
3rd Place - Maldives
Men Doubles
Champions - Chamil Cooray/Nishantha Fernando (Sri Lanka)
Yogesh/Srinivas vs Chamil/Nishantha - (10-25, 25-24, 25-22)
Runner Up - Yogesh Pardesi/K. Srinivas (India)
3rd Place - Shaffee Mohd/Hassan Nazim (Maldives)
Women Doubles
Champions - Chalani Lakmali/Joseph Roshita (Sri Lanka)
Chalani/Roshita vs Rashmi/Illavazaki - (25-15, 25-14)
Runner Up - Rashmi Kumari/S. Illavazaki (India)
3rd Place - Aishath Fainaz/Aminath Vishama (Maldives)
Mixed Doubles
Champions - Sandeep Deorukhkar/Kavita Somanchi (India)
Sandeep/Kavita vs Brindly/Yasika - (25-15, 25-05)
Runner Up - Brindly Wickramasinghe/Yasika Rahubaddha (Sri Lanka)
3rd Place - Hassan Shamin/Aminath Nifasha (Maldives)
Men Singles
Champion - Nishantha Fernando (Sri Lanka)
Nishantha vs Sandeep. Won by Nishantha (25-15, 25-09)
Runner Up - Sandeep Deorukhkar (India)
3rd Place - Yogesh Pardesi (India)
4th Place - K. Srinivas (India)
5th Place - Chamil Cooray (Sri Lanka)
6th Place - Hassan Shamin (Maldives)
7th Place - Hassan Nazim (Maldives)
8th Place - Brindly Wickramasinghe (Sri Lanka)
Women Singles
Champion - Rashmi Kumar (India)
Rashmi vs Kavitha. Won by Rashmi (23-25, 25-15, 25-09)
Runner Up - Kavitha Somanchi (India)
3rd Place - S. Illavazaki (India)
4th Place - Chalani Lakmali (Sri Lanka)
5th Place - Roshita Joseph (Sri Lanka)
6th Place - Aminath Vishama (Maldives)
7th Place - Aishath Fainaz (Maldives)
8th Place - Aminath Nifasha (Maldives)
SLAM SCORERS
1. K. Srinivas - India - White Slam
2. Hassan Shamin - Maldives - White Slam
3. Nishantha Fernando - Sri Lanka - White Slam
4. Yogesh Pardesi - India - Black Slam
5. Sandeep Deorukhkar - India - White Slam
IN SUMMARY
During the 16th SAARC Championships held in Male, Maldives back in 2011, there was a huge number of slam scorers. In fact, if I'm not wrong, there were at least 30-something in total. Looks like a drought of slams this time around. Let's hope there were more slams in the Asian championships.
Nishantha is now a formidable force to be reckoned with and he's proven just that. As for the women, Rashmi has proved the critics wrong that she's still THE ONE to look out for. I personally believe after Rashmi got elevated to motherhood, her form has been just too good for the rest. Baby luck huh? I guess not.
Men's Team Event
Champions - India
Runner Up - Sri Lanka
3rd Place - Maldives
Women's Team Event
First Place - India
Runner Up - Sri Lanka
3rd Place - Maldives
Men Doubles
Champions - Chamil Cooray/Nishantha Fernando (Sri Lanka)
Yogesh /Srinivas vs Chamil/Nishantha (18-25, 25-24, 25-22)
Runner Up - Yogesh Pardesi/K. Srinivas (India)
3rd Place - Shaffee Mohd/Hassan Nazim (Maldives)
Women Doubles
Champions - Rashmi Kumari/S. Illavazaki (India)
Rashmi/Illavazaki vs Chalani/Roshita (25-10, 25-22)
Runner Up - Chalani Lakmali/Joseph Roshita (Sri Lanka)
3rd Place - Aishath Fainaz/Aminath Vishama (Maldives)
Mixed Doubles
Champions - Sandeep Deorukhkar/Kavita Somanchi (India)
Sandeep/Kavita vs Brindly/Yasika (25-07, 25-0)
Runner Up - Brindly Wickramasinghe/Yasika Rahubaddha (Sri Lanka)
3rd Place - Hassan Shamin/Aminath Nifasha (Maldives)
Men Singles
Champion - Sandeep Deorukhkar (India)
Sandeep vs Srinivas. Won by Sandeep (25-19, 25-14)
Runner Up - K. Srinivas (India)
3rd Place - Yogesh Pardesi (India)
4th Place - Chamil Cooray (Sri Lanka)
5th Place - Nishantha Fernando (Sri Lanka)
6th Place - Hassan Shamin (Maldives)
7th Place - Brindly Wickramasinghe (Sri Lanka)
8th Place - Hassan Nazim (Maldives)
Women Singles
Champion - Rashmi Kumar (India)
Rashmi vs Illavazaki. Won by Rashmi (25-5, 25-11)
Runner Up - S. Illavazaki (India)
3rd Place - Kavita Somanchi (India)
4th Place - Chalani Lakmali (Sri Lanka)
5th Place - Yasika Rahubaddha (Sri Lanka)
6th Place - Aishath Fainaz (Maldives)
7th Place - Roshita Joseph (Sri Lanka)
8th Place - Aminath Vishama (Maldives)
SLAM SCORERS
1. B. Wickramasinghe - Sri Lanka - Black Slam
2. Nishantha Fernando - Sri Lanka - Black Slam
IN SUMMARY
So the slam drought did creep into the Asian Championships. Is it a lack of wanting to produce slams or there isn't any form of motivation to do so. I really don't know. Perhaps the boards used were much more difficult to do so with tighter pockets? Monetary rewards? Malaysia was one of the first country ever back in the late 90s to offer cash rewards for "slams".
I hope to be able to post more photos and hopefully no one copies these results and photos and claim it's theirs. You know how bloggers are.
SOME PICTURES FOR YOUR VIEWING
17th SAARC Carrom Championship 2013
Men's Team Event
Champions - India
Runner Up - Sri Lanka
3rd Place - Maldives
Women's Team Event
First Place - India
Runner Up - Sri Lanka
3rd Place - Maldives
Men Doubles
Champions - Chamil Cooray/Nishantha Fernando (Sri Lanka)
Yogesh/Srinivas vs Chamil/Nishantha - (10-25, 25-24, 25-22)
Runner Up - Yogesh Pardesi/K. Srinivas (India)
3rd Place - Shaffee Mohd/Hassan Nazim (Maldives)
Women Doubles
Champions - Chalani Lakmali/Joseph Roshita (Sri Lanka)
Chalani/Roshita vs Rashmi/Illavazaki - (25-15, 25-14)
Runner Up - Rashmi Kumari/S. Illavazaki (India)
3rd Place - Aishath Fainaz/Aminath Vishama (Maldives)
Mixed Doubles
Champions - Sandeep Deorukhkar/Kavita Somanchi (India)
Sandeep/Kavita vs Brindly/Yasika - (25-15, 25-05)
Runner Up - Brindly Wickramasinghe/Yasika Rahubaddha (Sri Lanka)
3rd Place - Hassan Shamin/Aminath Nifasha (Maldives)
Men Singles
Champion - Nishantha Fernando (Sri Lanka)
Nishantha vs Sandeep. Won by Nishantha (25-15, 25-09)
Runner Up - Sandeep Deorukhkar (India)
3rd Place - Yogesh Pardesi (India)
4th Place - K. Srinivas (India)
5th Place - Chamil Cooray (Sri Lanka)
6th Place - Hassan Shamin (Maldives)
7th Place - Hassan Nazim (Maldives)
8th Place - Brindly Wickramasinghe (Sri Lanka)
Women Singles
Champion - Rashmi Kumar (India)
Rashmi vs Kavitha. Won by Rashmi (23-25, 25-15, 25-09)
Runner Up - Kavitha Somanchi (India)
3rd Place - S. Illavazaki (India)
4th Place - Chalani Lakmali (Sri Lanka)
5th Place - Roshita Joseph (Sri Lanka)
6th Place - Aminath Vishama (Maldives)
7th Place - Aishath Fainaz (Maldives)
8th Place - Aminath Nifasha (Maldives)
SLAM SCORERS
1. K. Srinivas - India - White Slam
2. Hassan Shamin - Maldives - White Slam
3. Nishantha Fernando - Sri Lanka - White Slam
4. Yogesh Pardesi - India - Black Slam
5. Sandeep Deorukhkar - India - White Slam
IN SUMMARY
During the 16th SAARC Championships held in Male, Maldives back in 2011, there was a huge number of slam scorers. In fact, if I'm not wrong, there were at least 30-something in total. Looks like a drought of slams this time around. Let's hope there were more slams in the Asian championships.
Nishantha is now a formidable force to be reckoned with and he's proven just that. As for the women, Rashmi has proved the critics wrong that she's still THE ONE to look out for. I personally believe after Rashmi got elevated to motherhood, her form has been just too good for the rest. Baby luck huh? I guess not.
5th Asian Carrom Championship 2013
Men's Team Event
Champions - India
Runner Up - Sri Lanka
3rd Place - Maldives
Women's Team Event
First Place - India
Runner Up - Sri Lanka
3rd Place - Maldives
Men Doubles
Champions - Chamil Cooray/Nishantha Fernando (Sri Lanka)
Yogesh /Srinivas vs Chamil/Nishantha (18-25, 25-24, 25-22)
Runner Up - Yogesh Pardesi/K. Srinivas (India)
3rd Place - Shaffee Mohd/Hassan Nazim (Maldives)
Women Doubles
Champions - Rashmi Kumari/S. Illavazaki (India)
Rashmi/Illavazaki vs Chalani/Roshita (25-10, 25-22)
Runner Up - Chalani Lakmali/Joseph Roshita (Sri Lanka)
3rd Place - Aishath Fainaz/Aminath Vishama (Maldives)
Mixed Doubles
Champions - Sandeep Deorukhkar/Kavita Somanchi (India)
Sandeep/Kavita vs Brindly/Yasika (25-07, 25-0)
Runner Up - Brindly Wickramasinghe/Yasika Rahubaddha (Sri Lanka)
3rd Place - Hassan Shamin/Aminath Nifasha (Maldives)
Men Singles
Champion - Sandeep Deorukhkar (India)
Sandeep vs Srinivas. Won by Sandeep (25-19, 25-14)
Runner Up - K. Srinivas (India)
3rd Place - Yogesh Pardesi (India)
4th Place - Chamil Cooray (Sri Lanka)
5th Place - Nishantha Fernando (Sri Lanka)
6th Place - Hassan Shamin (Maldives)
7th Place - Brindly Wickramasinghe (Sri Lanka)
8th Place - Hassan Nazim (Maldives)
Women Singles
Champion - Rashmi Kumar (India)
Rashmi vs Illavazaki. Won by Rashmi (25-5, 25-11)
Runner Up - S. Illavazaki (India)
3rd Place - Kavita Somanchi (India)
4th Place - Chalani Lakmali (Sri Lanka)
5th Place - Yasika Rahubaddha (Sri Lanka)
6th Place - Aishath Fainaz (Maldives)
7th Place - Roshita Joseph (Sri Lanka)
8th Place - Aminath Vishama (Maldives)
SLAM SCORERS
1. B. Wickramasinghe - Sri Lanka - Black Slam
2. Nishantha Fernando - Sri Lanka - Black Slam
IN SUMMARY
So the slam drought did creep into the Asian Championships. Is it a lack of wanting to produce slams or there isn't any form of motivation to do so. I really don't know. Perhaps the boards used were much more difficult to do so with tighter pockets? Monetary rewards? Malaysia was one of the first country ever back in the late 90s to offer cash rewards for "slams".
I hope to be able to post more photos and hopefully no one copies these results and photos and claim it's theirs. You know how bloggers are.
SOME PICTURES FOR YOUR VIEWING
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| Men Doubles FINALS (SAARC Championship) |
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| Sri Lankan Team chilling out after a "tough day at the office" |
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| Women Doubles Champion - Sri Lanka (SAARC) |
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| Team Maldives |
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| Team Maldives all set for awards & prize presentation |
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| Team Sri Lanka with 4 Gold Medals |
