(For details see below)

Indian Carrom Team received by President of India

Report by Mr. SK Sharma, Gen. Secretary AICF

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Indian - Sri Lanka Test Series 2008

MURTAZA KHAN ZULFEE WIN MEN SINGLE TITLE IN PAKISTAN

Ramzan Ali & Shabbir Ahmed Beat Murtaza Khan Zulfee & Iftakhaar Uddin in the Men Double Event's Final
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The 2nd National Carrom Championship (ICF) 2008 played under the supervision of Pakistan Carrom Federation at Pak Carrom International Club, Sawana City, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Blk 13d/III, Karachi.
This Championship was dedicated to ICF which is celebrating his 20th anniversary.
In the 2nd National Carrom Championship more than 100 men player participated and at the qualifying round and league matches Murtaza Khan Zulfee, Iftikhaaruddin, Shabbir Ahmed and Nadir Hussain Reach the men single event's semifinals. In the first semifinal, Iftakhaaruddin beat Shabbir Ahmed by 2-0 game and in the 2nd semi final Nadir Hussain loss against Murtaza Khan Zulfee by 2-0 game and he also loss 3rd position match against Shabbir Ahmed while in the second semi final match of Best of three games Murtaza Khan Zulfee win first game by 25-24 but in the 2nd game Iftakhaaruddin beat Murtaza Khan Zulfee by 25-7. In the 3rd and final game Iftakhaaruddin loss the game by 25-0 and Murtaza Khan Zulfee win the men single Title.
Men’s Double Event Final match was very interesting, in this match Pakistan Carrom Team player Ramzan Ali and his partner Shabbir Ahmed win first game by 25-24 but in the 2nd game Iftakhaaruddin and Murtaza Khan Zulfee beat them by 25-21 and in the 3rd and final game once again Ramzan Ali & Shabbir Ahmed played very well and win by 25-22. While 3rd position is secured by Nadir Hussain & CH.Muhammad Ali after beating Asad Ashraf & M.Bilal by 2-0 game.

Monsoon Warszawa kwiecień 2008

A small Carrom tournament in Polish Capital

All India Carrom Federation

JP Agarwal M.P. elected as President, Ramesh Suri Executive President and SK Sharma General Secretary

 By M. Saran

New Delhi- April 24, 2008 : The Working Committee and Annual General Council of the All India Carrom Federation held at Hotel Landmark, Guwahati (Assam). Besides the general business the General Council elected Office Bearer and Members, Working Committee for the next term of 4 years. Shri Jai Prakash Agarwal, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and President, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee elected as President and noted businessman of Delhi Shri Ramesh Suri, elected as Executive President of the All India Carrom Federation. Both the eminent personalities of the Capital City are staunch admirers of the game of Carrom, they had all along associated with the activities and has been extending all possible help and support since more than two decades. Shri Jai Prakash Agarwal associated as an Office bearer for the first time whereas Shri Ramesh Suri was earlier associated with Carrom as Vice President, Delhi Carrom Association for the term from 1990-94.

Live wire of the Federation, Shri S. K. Sharma, General Secretary of Haryana Carrom Association was re-elected as General Secretary for the consecutive 4^th term. His devotion and sincere working for the cause of carrom was applauded by all. Shri Pradip Kumar Hazarika, General Secretary of the Assam Carrom Association and the host of the meeting was re-elected for the post of Vice President and later on designated as Sr. Vice President. Shri B.K. Haranath (Hyderabad), Shri Bharat Bhushan (Bihar), Shri Mahesh Sekhri (Chandigarh) re-elected as Vice President. Shri Prabhjeet Singh Bachher, Organizing Secretary of last SAARC Carrom Championship and General Secretary of Vidarbh elected as Vice President. Shri Khurshid Khan was re-elected as Treasurer for the 3^rd term. Shri P. Raveendran, earlier A.G.S. and General Secretary, Keral elected on a new post of Director (Technical) and Shri S. Udaya Kumar, earlier Joint Secretary (South) and General Secretary, Pondichery elected as Asstt. General Secretary. Shri Vijay Kumar, organizing Secretary of last Asian Championship and General Secretary Chhattisgarh elected as Dy. Secretary (Marketing). He is having MBA in (Marketing) and rich experience as Marketing Executive.

There were vital changes in the Joint Secretaries, out of 5 Joint Secretaries 4 are new faces. Shri Mukul Kumar Jha, General Secretary, Jharkhand re-elected as Joint Secretary whereas Shri M. Chandramauli, President, AP, Shri R. J. Mahant, General Secretary, Gujarat, Shri V.D. Narayan, General Secretary, Delhi and Shri T. Dhiren Singh, General Secy., Manipur were elected as Joint Secretary for South, West, North and North East Zone Respectively. Maharashtra, H.P., U.P., Karnataka, Rajasthan and Meghalaya were elected as Member Working Committee.

National famed Carrom Player turned as Politician Shri Rockybul Hussain, Minister of Environment, Forest, Tourism etc. of Government of Assam and President Assam Carrom Federation was nominated as Chief Adviser. At the occasion of attending the General Council, Shri Hussain announced donation of a sum of Rs. 1 lac to the Federation.

FIRST OPEN WOMEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2007, DHAKA

First Open women Championship held in Dhaka on 23rd to 25th November 2007.

Champion: Farzana Banu Shilpy

Runner-up: Shamsunnahar Maksuda

3rd. Farhana Pretty

CARROM OPEN CUP - PRAHA 2007

3rd Malaysian  Open International Carrom Championship

The Indian Carrom players won Men's Singles, Women Single and Teams Events for men and women both at the International Carrom Championship Malaysia Open at Kuala Lumpure, held between 15th to 17th November. A total number of 56players and large nuber of umpires and official from 12 countries (India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Pakistan, USA, Jpan, France, U.K., Germany, UAE and Malaysia) took part in the tournament. The Championship was closed officially, at the prize distribution ceremony at Grand Olympic Hotel on 17th November, by the President of the International Carrom Federation Mr. Arif Naqvi, who was also Chairman of the Championship. ICF Secretary General Mr. SK Sharma as well as President of Carrom association of Malaysia Mr. Zainal Abu Zarin also addressed the colourful prize distribution function. ICF President Arif Naqvi described the Championship a great success. He praised the excellent hospitality by the Malaysian Carrom Association and the friendly and cordial atmosphere among the players as well as smooth running of the matches with very good performances and the support given by the Ministry of Yout and Sports of Malaysia. More than 24 white slams (break to finish ) and black slams were made during the championship, not only by India and Sri Lanka but also by the players from several other countries such as France and USA. The Women's singles was won by I.ILAVAZHAKI of India by defeating Rashmi Kumari (both Indians) in final. The 3rd place went to Ayesh Mohammad of India. Men's Singles Event was won by B. Radha Krishna who defeated R.M.Shankara (both Indians) in final. R.Arokia Raj came on third place by beating Chamil Cooray of Sri Lanka. In teams Events for men Indian team came on the first place, while Sri Lanka came on 2nd and Maldives on 3rd. place. The Women Teams Event was won by India. Maldives came on 2nd, Sri Lanka on 3rd and Malaysia on 4th place. During the tournament Pakistan impressed with much improved performances in comparison to past. Pakistani team included 4 players and 2 umpires. Iftikharuddin of Pakistan came on 15th place while Amir Khan on 19th place. In teams event Pakistan had beaten two teams resulting the tie for the third place. Pakistan, Maldives and France had equal points (two win each), but Maldives got some edge to reach semi final. Though Sri Lanka could not win any event, its Tasmil Cooray surprised spectators by excellent performances by beating India's Shankara in Teams Event and India's Yogesh Pardeshi in Men's Singlges. Best European player was Fabian Pereira of France with 7th position in Men's Singles. The next international matches of Carrom will be 5th World Championship at Cannes (the city of film festivals) in France,in February next year, Euro Cup near London in July, SAARC countries Championship in summer in Maldives and International Federation Cup in Sri Lanka in November 2008. AN

Results:

Women Singles

1. I.Ilavazhaki India

2. Rashmi Kumari India

3. Ayesha Mohammad India

4. Barsha Baruah

Men Singles

1. B. Radha Krishna, India

2. RM Shankara, India

3. R. Arokiaraj, India

4. Chamil Cooray, Sri Lanka

Team Championship 

Women

1. India (Rashmi Kumari, Barsha Baruha, Ilavazhaki, Ayesha Mohd.)

2. Maldives (Aishath Shazna, Afeefunisha, Aishath Fainaz)

3. Sri Lanka (Udeshika Kumari, Nadishani Atapattu, Yasika Rahabaddhe, Leela D´Silva)

4. Malaysia ( Azila Abdul Samad, Sharifah Sahira, Suzan Salim, Rasmah)

Men

1.  India ( R. Arokiaraj, Yogesh Pardeshi, R. Radhakrishnan, R. M. Shankara)

2. Sri Lanka ( D.N. Fernando, Chamil Cooray, Hussain Ali, G. gunawardene)

3. Maldives ( Ahmed Hameed, Hussain Neesham, Hussain Ali)

4. Bangladesh ( Mohd. Ali, Mohd. Salahuddin, Asraful Islam)

Young Carrom player of France is again European Champion
Thrilling matches in 11th Euro Cup in Dortmund, Germany
(Report by Media Commission of ICF)

21 year old Pierre Dubois of France once again established supremacy by defending successfully the Title in Siongles Events on Sunday at the 11th Euro Cup in Dortmund, Germany. While Teams Trophy was defended successfully by the UK team and Doubles Title went to Karnal Abdin and Shaheen Miah of UK.
Four Slams were scored during the matches: One white and one black slam by Nazrul Islam of UK,
one Whilte Slam by Jonathan Leau (France) and one White Slam by Karnal Abdin (UK).

The high standard of the games and excellent technical arrangements and hospitality were praised by all participants of the Euro Cup. Around one hundred players from five European countries participated in three disciplines between 13th and 15th July 2007( 85 in Singles, 64 in Doubles and four each in five teams). The matches were conducted with Swiss System with the help of computer.

In Teams Event the UK team with Nazrul Islam, Abdul Rahman Khan, Abdul Malik and Abdul Wahid dominated from the very begining getting tough fights only from France and Germany. France with Pierre Dubois, Steeve Collard, Jonathan Leau and Mouraly Venou snatched second place from Germany (Peter Boecker, Stefan Besser, Dirk Polchow and Robert Hauke) which came on third place. Italy with Francesco Pedicini, Stefano Stucchi, Claudio Motta snd Paolo Martinelli came on 4th and Swiss team with Voktor Baumgarten, Lorenzo Hurlimann, Stefan Eigenmann and Kurt Scherrer came on 5th place.

The Doubles Event was also dominated by the UK players who received tough opposition from the French and German players. The Doubles Event was a one sided affair for UK plairs. Karnal Abdin/ Shahin Miah defeated in final their team mates Abdul Mumit/ Ish Gupta 25:0 and Ala Miah/ Tufail Ahmed Malik of UK defeated Fabian Pereira/ Jeremie Cieply of France by 25:22 for position 3 and 4.

The Singles Event was conducted with 11 rounds in two days. Especially Pierre Dubois (France), Nazrul Islam (UK), Karnal Abdin (UK), peter Boecker (Germany) Fabian Pereirra (France), Juergen Husmann (Germany) and Lal Rodrigo (Italy) gave very tough fights to opponents.
The final match of the Singles Events was full of dramatic elements. While Nazrul Islam was leading with 23 to 18 points after seven boards in the first game against Pierre Dubois, the French boy turned the table in the 8th round by winning with a sensational shot which pocket his most difficul piece and opened the rest for a smooth finish, winning by 25:23. The second game was a clear affair for Pierre Dubois who won 25:10.
The third place in Singles event went to Karnal Abdin of UK while Peter Boecker of Germany came on 4th place.

Earlier at the Opening Ceremony on 12th July, Joerg Kijanski, President of the German Carrom Federation welcomed the players from different parts of Europe for their participation in Euro Cup.
Arif Naqvi, President of the European Carrom Confederation inaugurated the 11th Eurocup and praised the development of the standard of Carrom in Europe. The Eurocup is helping not only to increase the standard of the game in Europe but also contributing to friendship and cooperation among the players. The Euro Cup should be considered as practice ground for the coming Malasiya
Open in November this year and World Championship in February next year. GCF Vice President Dirk Polchow explained the modalities of the Euro Cup mentioning to the hard and dedicated work of the members of the RCS association in Dortmund.

Also at the Prize giving ceremony on 15th evening the GCF president Jorg Kijanski acknowledged the support from all federations of Europe and the excellent atmosphere during the tournament.
ECC President Arif Naqvi, who also conveyed greetings form the ICF, praised the high standard of the matches, technical arrangements and excellent hospitality and hoped that the European players will be able demonstrate this rising standard during the coming international tournaments, especially the
World Championship in February 2008 in Cannes, France. GCF Vice President Dirk Polchow especially thanked the sponsors and media for their support. President of the UKCF Vijay Sharma extended invitation to all European players for the participation in 12th Euro Cup in London next year.
The results of the matches were announced by Gunter Seibert, who along with Markus Ense supervised the matches with computer. While Laurent Prost of France and Claudio Motta of Italy
were happy with their jobs as Chief Referee and Assistant Chief Referee.
The 11th Euro Cup was also given wide coverage by the news papers and TV stations of Dortmund.
Earlier a meeting of the Board of Management of the ECC sllotted the 12th Euro Cup 2008 to UK Carrom Federation and appealed to all federations to extend helping hands for the preparations of the World Championship in Cannes, france next year.

by
Arif Naqvi
Chairman
Media Commission of ICF

Carrom Championship in Qatar

(Report by Mr. Abdul Ghafoor)

Doha June 23: Ahmed J Abdul Gafoor, a QP employee has secured a spectacular victory in the ICC carom tournament and emerged as the Champion of the ICC Qatar Open Carrom-2007. Abdul Gafoor bagged the Rolling trophy by being the winner in the singles category of the ICC Open Carom Tournament -2007 by defeating Zahir Kasmani in a tough duel (25-10,23-24,20-1).

The tourney was conducted by Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) Doha, Qatar, which functions under the aegis of Indian Embassy in Qatar, as a part of promoting sporting activities. The entry to the competition was open to all communities residing in Qatar.

Apart from victory in singles category, Abdul Gafoor along with his teammate Raja D Sekaran have been adjudged as the winners in the doubles category by defeating the partnership of N.Venkatesan & Y.Prasanna Kumar (10-25, 21-7, 16-12) though the losers exemplarily performed in the match. While Zahir Kasmani bagged the runner-up trophy in the single category, N.Venkateshan pairing with Prasanna Kumar team won the runner-up trophy in the doubles category.

In the prize distribution ceremony conducted on Thursday the trophies for the winners and runner-ups were given away by the Dr. George Joseph, the Indian Ambassador and ICC Patron, Ravindra P Jaiswal, Chief Coordinating Officer of ICC, Mohammed Azam (Sadia Chicken) and ICC President Hassan Chougule. Gifts were also presented to all umpires and coordinators who rendered assistance to ICC towards coordinating the event.

Earlier, in the trophy presentation ceremony, Habib-un-Nabi, the ICC Sports Secretary, while welcoming the audience said, ICC has encouraged number of entries from other expatriate communities such as, Pakistan, Srilanka, Nepal etc. which inspires us to conduct the event every year. Also, next year onwards, contest will be held for both male and female contestants and also categorizing the competitors  based on their age group ? sports secretary added.

Ambassador in his address lauded ICC for conducting events particularly with entries open to other communities and proposed to have competitions in other disciplines of indoor games so as to make ICC a centre point for all such activities. Hasan Chougule President of ICC also spoke on the occasion. Saleem Ponnambath proposed a vote of thanks.

Al Zaman Exchange managed by UAE Exchange was the main sponsor of the event. M. Pallonji-Qatar Contracting and trading Co, Galaxy sports and Sadia Chicken also supported the event as associate sponsors