Passionate carrom enthusiasts gathered Sept. 10-11, 2022, in Edison, New Jersey to enjoy some intense games that transpired as part of the Carrom Tournament, Summer 2022.(tournaments.uscarrom.org).
Organized by the Northeast United States Carrom Association (NEUSCA) the event was held at E Hotel Banquet & Conference Center on Woodbridge Ave. where players were placed in one group, and they all played 7 rounds in Swiss Round Robin (SRR) league matches.
Winners in Carrom Tournament: Srinivasan Rayaprolu and Shibu Jose at Sept. 10-11, 2022 matches. Photo: NEUSCA
At the end of SRR, based on their performance, individual ranking was established, and each player was put in a different group such Champions, Challengers, Enthusiasts, Aspirants and Amateurs.
Then the knockouts in each group began – players who lost got knocked out.
Though not surprised at the results, organizers witnessed a newer generation of players emerging. They said they were ready to welcome a new Singles Champion into the fold when Madhu Kalya from SFO was set to play against Anthony Royan from Canada in the NEUSCA Open Summer 2022 Singles final.
Madhu Kalya won the singles. “ We are hoping he carries this experience to the upcoming World Cup in Malaysia,” organizers said in the press release.
In the doubles final as well, attendees witnessed a new champion teams between the pair Shibu Jose and Srinivasan Rayaprolu against Anthony Royan and Ahmer Ammar.
This time the format was slightly different than the normal one, which encouraged many players to be excited and they were hoping for a good show.
Winners said it was a healthy sign for Carrom that so many newcomers won in several of the categories.
Runner: Anthony Royan. Photo: NEUSCA
During the break time, players were entertained by celebrity singer Spoorthi Jithender who is a professional film playback singer, songwriter, featured in more than 100 movies, as well as a vocal tutor. She completed her eight grades in western music vocals from Trinity College, London. She also made her name in the Telugu Book of World Records and received Gama Award for Best PlayBack Singer Debut.
According to organizers, the music recess helped players relax and stay less stressed for the competitive carrom games.
Third Place: Ahmer Ammar. Photo: NEUSCA
Players also enjoyed the food and hospitality provided a the tournament.
“It is heartening to see a total of 82 players participating in the event, of which we had 30 new players playing for the first time, with the youngest player, Shiven Panchal , age 8 and the eldest player Bhujanga Rao, age 76,” Abul Shakeel Baig, president of NEUSCA, is quoted saying in the press release.
During the prize distribution amid much excitement, players wanted to know when the next tournament will be held.
Organizers thanked the main volunteers, Mohammed Adnan and Tarique Hussain, as well as Parikh Worldwide Media/ITV Gold which was a media partner, and telecast tournament updates on its channel. TV Asia also covered the event.
All final matches are available to watch on NEUSCA’s Facebook site.
The core team of organizers at NEUSCA included Baig,
Roshan Mushin (Vice president), Arshad Shaik (Secretary), Roshan Rauff (Technical Director) and Ajay Arora (Treasurer ).
The USA Team composed of Captain Shibu Jose, and members Ajay Arora, Parag Pandit, Bala Parthasarathy, Jayaprakash Jayaraj, and Madhu Kalya, are going to the World Cup in Malaysia, next month.
The women players going to Malaysia include Preeti Jakhotia, Uma Munagala, Tejasvi Duduka, and Puja Rathi.
Here are the winners in Singles:
Champions group:
Winner: Madhu Kalya
Runner: Anthony Royan
Third Place: Ahmer Ammar
Challengers group:
Winner: Atul Bhave
Runner: Venu Mukkera
Enthusiasts group:
Winner: Ashok Kumar Sampath
Runner: Tejasvi
Aspirants group:
Winner: Arun Bondali
Runner: Roshan Rauff
Upcomers group:
Winner: Bhujanga Rao Satyavolu
Runner: Advait Godugu
Winners in Doubles:
Champions group:
Winner: Shibu Jose and Srinivasan Royaprolu
Runner: Anthony Royan and Ahmer Ammar
Third Place: Rupkrishna and Rehan Nayyar
Challengers group:
Winner: Umakanth and Samir Agte
Runner: Arshad Shaik and Tejasvi Duduka
Enthusiasts group:
Winner: Subbu and Sabari
Runner: Mehmood Khan and Ashok Kumar Sampath
Aspirants group:
Winner: Kishore and Hemanth
Runner: Razeen and Murees
Upcomers group:
Winner: Kavitha Mangalampalli and Saroj Parikh
Runner: Prabhu Raj and Kalyani Asuri
