Mumbai: The third Maharashtra Open Carrom Challengers Trophy, sponsored by the Life Insurance Corporation of India and organized by the Maharashtra Carrom Association at Shri Halari Visa Oswal Samaj Hall, was won by K Srinivas of Telangana.
In the final, the former world champion defeated Abhishek Chavan of Maharashtra in a closely contested match with scores of 9-20, 23-0, and 25-4.
Abhishek's unexpected victory over international player Mohammad Arif of Uttar Pradesh in the semi-finals (13-10, 15-17, and 24-0) had everyone watching to see what he would do in the final. Abhishek of Maharashtra started the match very well, but he could not maintain consistency.
His strategies proved ineffective in the second and third sets. K Srinivas, playing in this tournament for the first time, secured the final victory with his aggressive play, writing his name on the Challengers Trophy and winning a prize of Rs. 1.5 lakhs.
Abhishek earned Rs. 1 lakh and received the second-place trophy. In the match for third place, sponsored by Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Union Bank, Mud Jeans, and Barbeque Nation, Mohammad Arif of Uttar Pradesh proved superior. He defeated Chand Yusuf Shaikh of Maharashtra with scores of 17-8 and 16-12, winning a prize of Rs. 75,000 and a trophy.
Chand, who had to settle for fourth place, received a prize of Rs. 50,000. Those defeated in the quarter-finals were each awarded Rs. 25,000. A total of Rs. 8 lakhs in cash prizes were distributed among the 32 players in the tournament. Before entering the final round, K. Srinivas had defeated Chand Yusuf Shaikh with scores of 18-10 and 25-6.
The participating carrom players recorded a total of 23 white slams and 18 black slams using the Sure Slam carrom boards and Bullet Shot coins provided by the equipment partner, SISCAA. A total of 31 matches, including the final, were live-streamed over two days of the tournament on the Maharashtra Carrom Association's YouTube channel. Additionally, running commentary on important matches was provided in Marathi, Hindi, and English.
The prizes for the top four players were presented by Gopal Shelar, President of the LIC Local Rights Committee, Vasudev Mukherjee, Head of LIC Dadar West Branch, Atul Mehra, Head of SISCAA Carrom Company, Atul Bhave, President of the US Carrom Association, Asgar Shaikh of Mud Jeans, Mr. Venkatesh, Secretary of Andhra Mahasabha Gymkhana, and Arun Kedar, Secretary of the Maharashtra Carrom Association. Other winners received their prizes from Ajit Sawant, Treasurer of the Maharashtra Carrom Association, Vice Presidents Dhananjay Sathe, Yatin Thakur, Pradeep Bhatkar, and Joint Secretary Ketan Chikhale.
The ceremony was compered by Prasanna Sant. Players from Canada, Sri Lanka, and Maldives were felicitated with custom made MCA Carrom Clocks.
Maharashtra's disabled carrom player, Jagannath Metrani, who has been consistently participating in all competitions for the past 40 years, was specially honored by the Maharashtra Carrom Association with a cheque of Rs. 1 lakh in recognition of his perseverance. Jagannath Metrani has only one hand, and only a little finger on the other hand. Despite this, he has been enjoying carrom and entertaining audiences for many years using just that one little finger.
