THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The new rules in the Laws Of Carrom introduced in the 11th Inter Institution Carrom Championship that concluded in the city on Friday, seemed hard nuts to crack for some of the world champions of the game.
“Its a little difficult,” commented most of the top ranked players who participated in the championship. The changes, which came to effect from April this year, have been introduced to make the game faster, more vibrant and spectatorfriendly.
With the new rules, there is a significant change in the duration of the game too.
“The new rules have brought much more pressure upon the players. One cannot afford even a slight mistake. There is little scope for experience and planning as the queen (the red carrom) need not be covered. If you are having a good coin pocketing skill, you can win the game,” said M Nataraj, former world and Asian champion, who suffered defeat in the league match of the men’s singles event held on Thursday.
Like Nataraj, many top ranked players lost in the individual and team championships. “We can’t use our experience.
There is no need for game planning either. Everybody focuses on finishing the board. But, the audience can enjoy as the game will finish within 40 minutes. There is a tiebreaker and a sudden death adding much more drama,” sai K M Shankara, the three-time world champion hailing from Karnataka.
Players also put forward suggestions regarding the ne rules. “The time between strokes is just 10 seconds and th is not enough. Its difficult to aim, to concentrate and to pu the striker in the right position on the board within th short time. If players are allowed to play one more boar instead of the tie-breaker, then it would be more helpful fo players,” said Yogesh Pardeshi, the current world champion hailing from Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, the exhibition matches held between th world champions and the junior and sub-junior players o the district at the ‘Meet the Masters’ programme organise in connection with the carrom championship, proved th the new rules have made the game easier for the younge generation, amply demonstrated by Nataraj’s loss again Adarsh, a local junior player.
Hidayat, Kavitha emerge as winners
M Hidayat Ansari of Air India (IASCB) and Kavitha Soma chi of Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) emerged winners in th men’s and women’s singles championships respectively i the 11th Inter Institution National Carrom Championsh 2009-10 that concluded at the Chandrashekharan Nair Stadium here on Friday.