Carrom Assn chief Desadla submits protest letter to govt

Bharat Desadla, chairman of Maharashtra Carrom Association (MCA), met with Suhas Diwase, state sports commissioner, and Sudhir More, Joint Director Sports, in Pune on Wednesday to register a formal protest concerning the recent exclusion of carrom from the list of 38 games eligible for the Shiv Chhatrapati Award. However, Desadla expressed his dissatisfaction with the meeting, calling it unproductive.

Desadla told mid-day on Wednesday, “We informed the government officials about the significant contributions made by Maharashtra players in global carrom tournaments. We also pointed out that 50% of the carrom players representing Team India come from Maharashtra, so the cold shoulder treatment of the game is unjust.”

“Sadly, they just heard us out and took our protest letter without any commitment on the issue. Hence, we may have to explore other options to escalate our protest,” he added.

Since MCA was established in 1954, Maharashtra gave birth to 30 international players and an equal number of Shiv Chhatrapati award recipients. This includes reigning world champion Sandeep Dive, World No. 3 Nilam Ghodake, and renowned international player Abhijeet Tripankar, all of whom hail from Maharashtra. Dive, unemployed at the moment, seeks the Shiv Chhatrapati Award as a path to potential job opportunities.

Desadla further stated, “It was not only shocking to see carrom erased from the government’s championship roster, but also hurtful that the decision was made without any prior consultation with the MCA.”