A Man Synonymous for Carrom in Malaysia

Introducing a very good friend of mine. Carrom brought us together back in 1999 and ever since, we've been good friends. Age isn't a factor because the language we speak is carrom. He's non other than Mr. Samohon Md. Kassim. Current Vice-President I of Malaysian Carrom Association (KAROMAS) and President of KaromasKL (affiliated to Malaysian Carrom Association).

In brief
He started playing carrom just as a past-time activity back in the 70s with his friends in the village which then led to his passion to go to greater heights. In the early 80s, he took part in tournaments organized by the Bell Club and MIC carnivals where he's won many titles. He also reached the quarter-finals of the Panadol carrom league (this event is meant for those who have constant headaches......just kidding.....haha) which was an invitation with top players from around Klang Valley.

Achievements
1. 1986 Wilayah Open - Semi-finalist.
2. 1987 Wilayah Open - Champion and won a prize purse of RM1,000. Highest during that time.
3. 1991 Malaysian Airlines tournament - Champion.
4. 1993 Perlis Open - Single's & Double's Champion.
5. Won several titles from various locally organized competitions within the Community.
6. 1984 - 2002 - Carrom Convener for team Malaysian Airlines (MAS).
7. 1995 - Became founding member of the present Malaysian Carrom Association where the ICF format was formally introduced in Malaysia.
8. 1995 - 2nd Carrom World Championship, Colombo, Sri Lanka as a Player.
9. 1996 - 1st US Open, North Carolina, USA with 9 other players as a Player.
10. 1999 - 1st Piala Korporat (Corporate Cup) where DBKL won the championship and went on to represent Malaysia in the 2000 World Championship in India.
11. 1990s - Bandaraya Open - Champion.
12. 2000 - Passed the ICF Umpires exam with 8 others and certificates were presented by Mr. B. Bangaru Babu and the then (Chief Director) Ketua Pengarah of KBS - Datuk Fatul Radzi.
13. 1999 & 2000 - Technical Representative for the 1st & 2nd Malaysian Open.
14. 2003 - 2nd US Open, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA as a Player.
15. 2004 - 4th World Championships, Colombo, Sri Lanka as a Player.
16. 2006 - 2nd World Cup, New Delhi, India as a Team Manager.
17. 2008 - 5th ICF Cup, Colombo, Sri Lanka as a Team Manager.
18. Appointed as the Chairman of the Umpires Bureau and Technical Committee.
19. Appointed by Karomas to participate in the ICF 10th year celebrations in Chennai.
20. Represented Malaysia for the 1st French Open in Paris.
21. 2008 - Formed WPKL Carrom Association (KaromasKL), holding the position of President.

Went to India on many occasions to gain more knowledge from the founding father of ICF - Mr. B. Bangaru Babu. Slowly but surely, he took more interest in organizing and developing the ICF format to locals although it still remains a huge challenge.

For many years, he's been actively involved in organizing MAKSWIP and MAKSAK carrom games successfully with his team of dedicated umpires. His legacy for carrom will continue as long as his services is needed. He's also doing some coaching and organizing tournaments for some clubs and organizations.

As you can clearly see his achievements over the years and he still continues to do what he does best - CARROM. Although now he's not play as much due to an operation which he underwent many years ago to correct the nerves on his wrists which eventually damaged it instead. I know he still loves playing although the strokes are pretty limited. But you can still see the passion in his eyes and the how he wished he never underwent that surgery. He still joins us for a game of "handicap" carrom where I become his doubles partner. That's quite a partnership.

Recently when he had a fall which injured his ankle, he would murmur that he could not do much for carrom. It took several months for his recovery and now walks around with the help of a walking aid. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope for the best and I thank God for carrom because that brought us together - a man and his passion for carrom.

THIS ARTICLE IS DEDICATED TO HIM, MY FRIEND.

1st US Open (1996). Pictured here on the left.

2nd Piala Korporat (Team MAS). Champion and pocketing prize money of RM3,000. Pictured here on the left.

2nd World Championships, Colombo, Sri Lanka (1995). Pictured here 3rd from left.

2nd World Championships, Sri Lanka (1995) - Singles Event. Pictured here on the left.

4th World Championships, Colombo, Sri Lanka (2004). Pictured here on the right - standing.

4th World Championships, Sri Lanka (2004) - Playing Doubles

10th ICF Mtg, Chennai (1998). Pictured here in grey suit.

Receiving ICF Exam Certificate

Handing over momento during US Open (2003). Pictured here on the left.

US Open (2003) - Singles. Pictured here on the left.

Wilayah Open - Finals (1987). Pictured here on the left.

Wilayah Open - Finals (1987) - Champion (The trophy got the best of him)

History Behind The Success - Yogesh Pardeshi

Written by a very good carrom buddy. All the best to you Yogesh and more success in the future.

Like any other sport, I also have a history behind my success. The path has been difficult and maybe that's the reason that I've reached the zenith in the sport of carrom.

I may be in 9th standard when on the pretext of summoning my brother I visited the Carrom club. Watching my brother play I gradually developed the liking for the game. My mother first noticed my inclination towards Carrom and she encouraged me by often providing money secretly for playing in the club. Our financial situation was not good and our only source of income was my father who worked as a daily laborer in the railways and did not support my interest in Carrom. When he was about to retire, he unfortunately passed away in January 2008. My mother is my role-model who in spite of enormous difficulties cared for us and supported our interests. I dedicate my success to her efforts.

World Cup - India (2006)

As my game improved I started taking part in few district level competitions - my financial situation prevented me from taking part in all district level competitions. I did not have enough money to even pay for the entry fees for the competitions. I remember an instance where I had to sell my father’s liquor bottles and a metal bucket to raise money to pay the entrance fee for a competition - I can still remember how many rupees those bottles fetched me then. The entrance to the competition was gained, but a grater issue still loomed, the problem of commuting to and fro from the venue. I stayed at Yerawada while the competition was organized at Nehru stadium near Swargate which is nearly 9-10 km. away. It was necessary to cover this distance everyday to participate in the competition. Even my pair of slipper did not support in that commute. The slippers would break every few meters and I had to mend it together with a metal string. This provided a temporary solution and had to be repeated often.

Much lesser hair here. Must be all those hours spent training and not to mention - stress.

I was expected to reach the competition venue by 9 am therefore I had to start my journey by 7 am fueled by a meager cup of tea. On the first day after reaching the venue by 8:45 am the first thing bothering me was my empty stomach. If I had to have a good game then it would not have been possible on an empty stomach. Something had to be done about this and very soon. Just then I heard an announcement from the head referee inviting volunteers for refereeing. I immediately pounced on the opportunity and registered my name. Each referee received a refreshments coupon every day. I would act as a referee for 2 matches before participating in mine and a cup of tea and one cream roll would quench my hunger for the time being. That day I walked back all the way home mending my broken slippers.

A much bigger carrom legend in beige suite, 2nd from the Right - Mr. B. Bangaru Babu

That night I sensed the tension in the air at home and I quietly had a few morsels and went to sleep. In the morning I woke up early and while leaving my mother noticed the broken slippers and she give me my brother’s slippers to wear. I of course still had to walk that distance, but now it was much better. With my mother’s blessings and God’s grace I won that match and that evening Mr. Rajan Jharekar give me a ride home in his auto rickshaw. I told my mother of the day’s achievement and give her the prize money of Rs. 501. Mother offered the money to God and prayed for my success and instead of congratulating me she asked “Son, for these past 2 days how did you commute and what did you eat?” I will never forget her tone filled with compassion and love, she unfortunately passed away in November 2010. Every sport needs proper training, but in my case I never had any. I learnt my game by observing my opponents. I started painstakingly identify my mistakes and trying to correct them on my own. In this endeavor I received co-operation from Mr. Rajan Jharekar and Mr. Nitin Bora.

Behind every success is hours of practice, nothing else

One of the reasons that I had to endure so much for Carrom was our poverty and the illiteracy which surrounded me. I was born in Subhash Nagar; a slum near Yerawada in Pune. I completed my education till 12th standard from corporation school (government aided school). Continuing for college education was out of the question and maybe that made be turn my attention towards the field of sports and I decided to carve a successful carrier out of it. I trained and practiced for nearly 8-10 hours a day learning and improving my game. These efforts resulted in my moving from district level to state level competitions. In 1997 I won the state level Carrom championship held at Ratnagiri and for the first time moved the title from Mumbai to Pune. Then in 1998 I was selected in the Maharashtra state team for the national Carrom championship held at Akola and in 2000 I was part of the Indian national team which participated in the 3rd world Carrom championship held at New Delhi. My ranking was 4 at the national level. In the world championship I helped the Indian team win the team championship, doubles championship and was runner up for the singles championship. Due to my achievement in the world championship, in March 2001 I was offered a job in Indian Oil Corporation as a clerk. Later in 2001 I represented India in the 1st Carrom world cup held at London in England and was runner up in doubles and secured the third place in the singles competition. Considering my consistent performance, Indian Oil Corporation according to its policy offered my first promotion as grade ‘A’ officer in January 2002.

World Championship - France (2008)

Joining the Indian Oil Corporation solved my financial problems to a certain extent and now I could practice and concentrate on my game whole heartedly. I receive travel benefits from the company in the form of T.A. D.A. which along with the encouragement from the officials and my colleagues inspires me to work harder towards achieving my goals. Armed with the blessings and encouragement of my family and supporters I became the World champion in the 2nd Carrom world cup held at New Delhi in 2006 & 5th World Carrom Championship at France {Cannes} in 2008 and retained the championship in the recently held 3rd Carrom world cup at America in 2010. Indian Oil Corporation promoted me to grade ‘B’ officer in 2011.

Running out of space for trophies

I give all the credit of my success to my FAMILY and INDIAN OIL CORPORATION. My company helped me become financially independent and concentrate on my game. In Carrom competitions cash prizes are rare and in those cases I consider the T.A. D.A. provided by my company as my cash prize. I would not have been successful without this support. To ensure that I can perform consistently I practice for 8-10 hours every day and along with this I perform Yoga and exercise in the gymnasium. This helps me remain fit and focused for my practice and matches.

YOGESH UDAYBHAN PARDESHI
WORLD CARROM CHAMPION

PUNE ( MAHARASHTRA)

Extract from - http://yogeshpardeshi.wordpress.com/