1. Lok Sabha Speaker, Smt. Meira Kumar felicitated Indian carrom players in Lok Sabha in 2010 on their winning 14th SAARC Carrom Championships held at Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2010.
2. Anthony Maria Irudayam, 2 times world champion and 9 times national champion was conferred coveted National Sports Award - Arjuna Award in 1997.
3. President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil felicitated Indian carrom players in Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2008 on their winning 5th World Carrom Championship held at Cannes, France.
4. Indian Carrom players were felicitated in Westminster Hall of British Parliament by Lord Swaraj Paul in 1996 in the presence of several Ministers and MPs.
5. The International Carrom Federation conducted its 5th World Carrom Congress in Palace of Westminster, British Parliament.
6. A fund raising dinner was organised in the Westminster, British Parliament with the support of Krishan K. Sharma attended by several British Ministers, MPs and Indian carrom players.
7. Indian Carrom Players were also felicitated in Indian Parliament House by Mr. J.P. Agarwal, M.P. and other Members of Parliament in 2008. (Photo)
8. All India Carrom Federation became the only National Sports Federation to have organised its official meetings in ‘Sansad Bhavan’ (Indian Parliament House) in 2009.
9. Indian Carrom players were once again felicitated in British Parliament in 2008 by British Member of Parliament Vijander Sharma.
10. Indian Olympic Association recognised the game of carrom and the All India Carrom Federation in 1998.
11. The School Games Federation of India (SGFI) recognised the game of carrom first in 1998 and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in 2010 and later by ‘Indian Certificate of Secondary Education’ (ICSE).
12. Union Sports Ministry sanctioned Pension for a poor Veteran National Champion, Loknath from Karnataka.
13. First ever international professional sports league in India “World Series of Carrom” with prize money of Rs.10 lakhs was telecast on TV by ESPN/Star Sports in 2007. Title of World Series of Carrom, colours of equipments, rules of the league, selection of players and umpires, holding of challenge round matches between World champions and common people at famous public places in Delhi, were finalised as proposed by me.
14. I, in association with ESPN Star Sports successfully completed an experimental TV show “King of Carrom” with innovative ideas and new rules.
15. A documentary on carrom was made by “Trans World Sport”, world’s longest running weekly international television sports programme with a household reach of nearly 200 million in 50 countries.
16. Union Sports Ministry formally invited two carrom world champions, A. Maria Irudayam and S. Appoorwa in Queen’s Baton Relay 2005, a curtain raiser for Commonwealth Games 2006 and more Carrom players/officials participated in Relay for CWG 2010.
17. Air tickets for Indian team for 1st SAARC Championship held at Maldives in 1997 and few more participations were sponsored by Air India.
18. Obligatory ‘uniform’ for players and a new ‘dress code’ for Umpires were introduced to uplift the image of carrom.
19. The game of carrom was included once again in the ‘Talent Search Scholarship Scheme’ of the Sports Authority of India.
20. I, along with Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, IOA (Chairman); Mr. K.P.S. Gill, IPS (Hockey); Dr. Lalit Kumar Bhanot (Athletics); Mr. Balbir Singh (Arjuna Awardee); Mr. N Kumar (Winter Games); Director General SAI and Joint Secretary (Sports Ministry) was included as a Member of the Working Group formed by Union Sports Ministry in 2002 to suggest amendments in the Government Guidelines, etc.
21. The All India Carrom Federation became the first National Sports Federation in India to make its working paperless.
22. The All India Carrom Federation became the first National Sports Federation in India to launch its official website in 1999. The website was re-launched in 2008 with new features. Comprehensive contents including history of the Federation were written and compiled by me.
23. A brochure/flier on carrom was designed, created and circulated 10,000 copies to Associations, schools, colleges, institutions, libraries, promoters and directly to public.
24. A bi-monthly coloured newsletter of AICF titled “The Carrom Express” in 2002 was designed and published single handily and circulated to media, government agencies, schools & colleges, etc.
25. Registered players and officials were wished on their birthdays by sending a specially designed Birthday Card signed by President, J.P. Agarwal, M.P. and the General Secretary.
26. The All India Carrom Federation replaced decades old Constitution with a new but inclusive Constitution (Rules & Regulations) after marathon debates.
27. A set of ‘Tournament Guidelines’ was introduced in 1997 bringing transparencies and accountability in all organisational and technical aspects of Federation events. It included new selection policy for Indian teams.
28. Duties & Responsibilities for Technical Directors/ Delegates, Chief/Assistant Chief Referees and Umpires and (b) ‘Code of Conduct’ for Indian participants in international tournaments were introduced.
29. Balance Sheets with Income & Expenditure Statements and Schedules were introduced in Annual Accounts making the accounts transparent. Later, comparative figures of previous and current years were included in Balance Sheets for ready reference.
30. Federation was registered under Section 80G and 12A of Income Tax Act and it started filing regularly annual Income Tax Returns.
31. A new concept of ‘Draws Booklet’ containing all draws, fixtures, schedules, posting of umpires, board numbers and match numbers was introduced at Faridabad in 2000 reducing unnecessary stress on players and enabling them to play with more focus and concentration.
32. In an effort to generate interest in carrom among the populace of the regions, organised national and zonal carrom tournaments in more than 30 new cities/towns of the country.
33. In another effort to propagate carrom in all nooks and corners of the country, affiliated 6 new State Associations and 14 Institutions disaffiliating 2 State Associations and 4 Institutions later.
34. Introduced an Inter-Institution National Championship in January 1998 and made it part of National Ranking system
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35. To help Junior players (U18) in getting admissions, scholarships and jobs with Zonal positions and to give them exposure with senior players, they were made part of Zonal Championships. To groom them for future, zonal coaching camps were introduced.
36. To give proper importance to Zonal Championships, Inter-Zonal National Championship was given National Ranking status.
37. In order to unearth new talent in India and to prepare them for future, introduced national events for cadets boys and girls (under 12 years of age) and Youth boys and girls (under 21 years of age).
38. I introduced a separate Women Veteran event on the lines of Men Veteran event. Later raised minimum eligibility age limit for veteran players from 45 to 50 years.
39. During my tenure of 18 years in AICF successfully organised all 54 obligatory national championships in senior, junior and sub-junior categories.
40. Received grant-in-aid from the Sports Ministry for all 54 national championships. Also started receiving Government Grants for all five zonal championships every year from 2008 onwards.
41. Also organised 17 All India Federation Cup Tournaments, 15 Inter-Institution National Championships, good number of Zonal Championships, Inter-Zonal National Championships, Prize Money All India Tournaments and Zonal Invitation Tournaments.
42. For the first time organised a national carrom championship in 2012 in a Shopping Mall (MGF Metropolis) at prime location of M.G. Road, Gurgaon with unique publicity of 5 lakh sms, 5 lakh emails and a huge hoarding on top of the Mall for 10 days visible to lakhs of metro commuters.
43. During 18 years in AICF, organised 8 International/Continental tournaments in 6 different cities and 5 Test Series in 15 cities of India out of which World Carrom Championship 2000, World Cup 2006, SAARC Championship 2004 and Champion of Champions 2013 Tournaments were organised in five-star Hotels at Delhi & Gurgaon.
44. Deputed Indian National Carrom Teams to 59 International & Continental events/ International Test Series (48 abroad & 11 in India) and organised Coaching Camps before each international event and several felicitation functions for Indian Teams on their arrival in India.
45. Introduced bilateral Test Series with UK and France in 1996 and continued with Indo-German and Indo-Sri Lankan Series. Also introduced Test Series for Junior players with Sri Lanka in 2013.
46. Final matches of Junior National Championship held at Faridabad in 2002 were telecast ‘live’ by Doordarshan. Earlier, finals of 3rd World Championship held at Delhi in 2000 were covered live by Doordarshan. However, Doordarshan telecast recorded matches of several tournaments.
47. As a State Secretary organised 18 International/National/Zonal events in Haryana – International Champion of Champions Tournament, Indo-Sri Lanka Junior Test Series, friendly matches with German Team, 8 National Championships, a Federation Cup Tournament, a North Zone Championship, Training for Trainers course, Selection Trials, several Coaching Camps for Indian Teams and a special training camp for North Zone Junior players.
48. In order to attract students towards carrom, organised Prize Money events for students under 12, under 14 and under 18 years of age. Also organised workshops for students and teachers on how carrom is useful for students, status of carrom and how to play carrom.
49. Winners of all events were presented 10 grams Pure Gold Medals in Senior National Championship held at Faridabad in 1995. Similarly, first three positions holders of 3rd World Championship held at New Delhi in 2000 were also presented pure Gold and Silver Medals. These two are the only occasions where pure Gold and Silver Medals were awarded.
50. Men and Women Winners of SAARC Championship 2004 were presented a TVS Motor bike and TVS Scooty. It remains the only occasion where Motorbike and Scooty were awarded in carrom.
51. Top Indian carrom players started getting big amounts of cash prizes to the tune of Rs.20 lakhs, Rs.15 lakhs, Rs.10 lakhs, Rs.5 lakhs, Rs.3 lakhs on winning international and national titles or annually from their organisations. Maria Irudayam was gifted a house by the Tamil Nadu Government.
52. Indian players received good amount of cash prizes in various international tournaments particularly the SAARC Championships and the US Open Championships. In one of the US Open tournaments US$ 3500 were presented only for Slams in addition to prize money.
53. For the first time I organised National Championship for Cadet (under 12) and Sub-Junior (under 14) players in an AC hall at Faridabad with top class facilities. It became a unique event when Governor of Haryana inaugurated the Championship and Chief Minister gave away the prizes.
54. From D.A. of Rs.25 per day and unfurnished accommodation till their elimination, players started getting all foods and furnished accommodation for the period of their participation. Washing Allowance was introduced for Umpires. There is multi fold improvement in facilities for Players and TA/DA for Umpires & Technical Officials.
55. Keeping in view the tough challenge to Indian players, introduced subjects of ‘Yoga’ utilising the services of professional yoga trainers, physical fitness, mental fitness and sports psychology with focus on killing instinct during training camps for national players with fruitful results.
56. Introduced ‘Training for Trainers’ courses for empanelment of Coaches at District and State levels and conducted three such courses at Mumbai, Faridabad and Dehradun with subjects of Psychology in carrom, killing instinct, enhancing concentration, yoga, mental & physical fitness, role of coaches besides Laws of Carrom etc.
57. Performed the role of a ‘Mentor’ for Indian National carrom players before and during international events with big success and appreciation from players.
58. Was successful to have exclusive carrom stories on NDTV, Zee News, Aaj Tak, 9 stories on Star Plus (Aaj ki Baat by Rajat Sharma), Star News, ETV, IBN, Enadu, BBC, Zee Europe, Euro TV, DD National, DD Sports, DD (Regional languages) etc. besides big number of stories on carrom by leading and national dailies prominent among them was a full page carrom story on centre page of Times of India.
59. Exclusive carrom shows / quiz programmes were introduced & organised in schools and during junior and sub-junior national championships presenting attractive gifts to participants.
60. In Haryana completely focussed on introducing and involving school children in carrom by organising Workshops, training camps and Inter-class and Inter-branches carrom tournaments.
61. In order to give a source of entertainment and to inculcate the spirit of competition among specially abled persons, developed carrom equipments specifically for blinds and organised several prize money competitions exclusively for them.
62. Also organised several tournaments for Deaf & Dumb children in their Schools and Colleges and presented them carrom equipments for practice. Provided free equipments to blind schools and senior citizen clubs and promoted their tournaments.
63. Associated myself with an NGO of international repute for giving training and organising carrom competitions exclusively for children from down trodden families and slum areas.
64. In association with NIIT Yuva Star organized free carrom workshops and training programmes for downtrodden children and youngsters belonging to slum areas of Noida (U.P.) in 2009.
65. In an effort to popularise carrom among college students, organised twice carrom demonstration by World Champions in Goa campus of BITS Pilani during their sports festivals.
66. Special events and training programmes were organised for doctors in Apollo Hospital, Jail, corporate sector companies, advocates and news reporters.
67. The game of carrom was demonstrated during Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 and Athens Olympics 2004 through late Krishan Kr. Sharma. Earlier, with the support of B. Bangaru Babu Carrom was also demonstrated during General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia at New Delhi in 1997.
68. Organised carrom demonstrations in Shopping Malls, Schools and Fairs in Germany and also in UK where Indian Team displayed the skill of carrom with the support of Arif Naqvi and Krishan.
69. Made an effort to have a shorter version of carrom and conducted a trial tournament ‘Champion of Champions’ at New Delhi and later tried in Senior National at Guwahati in 2009. The idea to have a shorter version in addition to existing version was dropped by Federation but some new playing rules for Junior and Sub-Junior players were adopted.
70. Improved the quality of playing equipments to a considerable level over the years.
71. Carrom players successfully shifted from Ivory to other material strikers after ‘Ivory’ strikers were banned from 1st May 1998. Keeping all apprehensions at rest, carrom players scored 70 slams in Senior National Championship held at Nagpur.
72. Made some research work on how carrom was helpful for school students in enhancing their concentration, cognitive skills and ultimately in their studies. It was established that students who were playing carrom with good interest at various levels, scored 85% to 95% marks in their annual examinations. Interestingly international shooters, archers, cricketers and religious gurus were using carrom as an instrument for enhancing their concentration levels.
73. Golden Jubilee of the Federation was celebrated in a spectacular manner in the lawns of Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on 4th March 2006. Indian carrom players holding top positions in international events and national record holders, State Secretaries, former & present Office-bearers of Federation including founding General Secretary Dr. R.S. Cunnaiah were felicitated. Celebrations started with release of pigeons, balloons & fire work with a special carrom song and concluded with gala dinner and live music.
Specially titled Golden Jubilee Awards were presented to selected players and office-bearers & State Secretaries of AICF and ICF were felicitated with Shan-e-Carrom Awards by Gagan Narang, an international Shooter in a musical evening by professional TV and film artists followed by gala dinner during Carrom World Cup in Grand Ball Room of a five star resort hotel in 2006.
All senior national champions were felicitated by Sarabjit Singh, IPS President of the Federation in a musical evening organised during Senior National Championship held at Kolkata on 23rd March 2007 followed by gala dinner.
74. On completion of 25 years of the International Carrom Federation, organized its Silver Jubilee celebrations in a five star hotel at Gurgaon in October 2013 with an international ‘Champion of Champions’ tournament and Indo-Sri Lanka Test Series for Junior players. All National Federations, former & current Office-bearers of ICF and carrom promoters were felicitated with specially designed Silver Jubilee plaques in a musical Award Night function. All participants were presented Mugs, Strikers, Neckties and T-shirts as Silver Jubilee Mementos. The celebrations were inaugurated by Raja Randhir Singh, Secretary General, Olympic Council of Asia.
75. I was conferred two National level AWARDS – ‘Great Achievers Award’ and ‘Shining Diamond Award’ by two different national social organisations for my outstanding individual achievements and distinguished services. I was also conferred various Awards like ‘Life Time Achievement’ and Shan-e-Carrom Award by the Federation and by several Associations in appreciation of my contribution to carrom.