Personal information | |
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Nationality | Indian |
Born | 1956 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
Sport | |
Country | ![]() |
Sport | Carrom |
Anthony Maria Irudayam (born 1956 in Chennai, India) is a two-time World Carrom Champion and nine-time national champion of India. [1] He was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award, a sporting honour presented by the Government of India, in 1996. [2] As of 2007, he is the only person to have received the award for carrom. [3] He is the current secretary of the Chennai District Carrom Association. He has rued over lack of sponsorship in carrom over the years. [4]
After dropping out of school at the age of 14, he started playing carrom at the age of 17 representing local clubs. He won his first local carrom tournament in 1977. [5] He was encouraged by his family and friends to play carrom against veterans.
Several times, he was member of the Indian team winning a team event in a tournament. This was the case with the International Carrom Federation Cup in 1989 and 1997, the World Carrom Championships in 1991, 1995 and 2000, the SAARC Carrom Championship between 1997 and 1999, the US Open International Carrom Tournament in 1996 as well as the French Open International Carrom Tournament in 1998. [1]
In addition to this, Irudayam became champion (singles) at the World Carrom Championship in 1991 (where he also became doubles champion with R. Arokiaraj) [6] and 1995, at the Champions Championship in 1998, at the French Open International Carrom Tournament in 1998 as well as at the SAARC Carrom Championship in 1998 (where he also became doubles champion with Jagan Bengle in 1999.
In 1995 Carrom World Cup which was held at Colombo, he won the men's singles title and he emerged as runners-up along with R. Arokiaraj to fellow Indian pair in the men's doubles final. [7] Moreover, Irudayam made the top three in a lot of championships in the 1990s. In the 2000 Carrom World Cup, he finished at fourth position in the men's singles. [8] He was later employed in the Railways. He currently runs and operates his own coaching club in Chennai. [5]
He was announced as one of the judges by All-India Carrom Federation for the 2020 Online World Carrom Challenge. [9]
In 2012, Irudayam's wife died after she was run over by a truck near Chennai. [10]
Indian actor Dhanush partly played his role as a carrom player in the 2018 Tamil film Vada Chennai. [11]
Pullela Gopichand is a former Indian badminton player. Currently, he is the Chief National Coach for the India national badminton team. He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001, becoming the second Indian to achieve this feat after Prakash Padukone. He runs the Gopichand Badminton Academy. He received the Arjuna Award in 1999, the Dronacharya Award in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award – in 2014.
R. Arokiaraj is a Carrom champion from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Arokiaraj was a city carrom champion.
The All India Carrom Federation (AICF) is India's national sport federation for the indigenous game of carrom, sanctioning six to seven national-level tournaments per year. It is India's representative body in the International Carrom Federation. The AICF has 15 regional and 28 state subnational affiliate institutions, the largest of which is the Maharashtra Carrom Association, further subdivided into local organisations.
Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai. The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India and has been the venue for many notable milestones in the history of Indian cricket. Tennis, field hockey, football and formula racing and squash are the other popular sports. The city hosts an ATP tennis event, the Chennai Open. Chennai has a rich legacy in chess and has produced many well-known chess players, the most notable of them being Viswanathan Anand, the former multiple World Chess Champion.
Rashmi Kumari is an International Carrom champion from Bihar, India, playing since 1992. She is employed on a scholarship basis at Union Bank of India, UBI in Patna. She also played for BSB in many tournaments.
Ravivarman Sharmila, best known as R. Sharmila is an Indian national carrom champion with excellent skill and control on the game. She born on 23 April 1981 to a lower-income family in Chennai. She started playing at 8 years of age and developed her game enough to be selected for the 1992 Tamil Nadu Sub-Junior Carrom Team at age 11.
Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, who works in the Tamil film industry. As of 2021, he has won five National Film Awards, eight Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, two Filmfare South Awards and the Amnesty International Italia Award from 72nd Venice Film Festival.
Valiyaveetil Diju, also known as V. Diju, is an Indian badminton player from Kozhikode, Kerala. He clinched six National Championships title, once in the men's doubles and five times in the mixed doubles. He represented India in the 2012 London Olympics, became the first Indian player to participate at the Olympics in the mixed doubles alongside Jwala Gutta. He is the winner of Arjuna Award 2014, given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, government of India to recognize his outstanding achievement in National sports. He is also the winner of G. V. Raja awards, which is the highest government-level recognition for sports persons in Kerala. He is winner of Jimmy George award 2014. He is also winner of Vivekanandha sports excellence award 2014. He won the Youth excellence award also in 2014.He is the only mixed doubles player from India to reach top 10 in the world badminton ranking(BWF) .His highest ranking is number 6th in world ranking.
Vada Chennai is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action crime drama film written and directed by Vetrimaaran in his fourth film as a director. It is the first instalment in a planned trilogy. Produced by A. Subaskaran's Lyca Productions and Dhanush's Wunderbar Films with Vetrimaaran's Grass Root Film Company, it stars Dhanush as Anbu, a skilled carrom player who becomes a reluctant participant in a gang war between two rival gangsters. Along with Dhanush, Andrea Jeremiah, Aishwarya Rajesh, Ameer, Samuthirakani, Daniel Balaji, Kishore and Pawan appear in prominent roles.
Bhamidipati Sai Praneeth is an Indian badminton player. He became the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to win a bronze medal in the BWF World Championships in 2019 after Prakash Padukone in 1983. Sai Praneeth was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2019. His parents are Seshadri Deekshitulu and Madhavi Latha of Palakollu, West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. His maternal aunt was a national level badminton player.
Many sports are played by the people of Tamil Nadu including both traditional sports and sports from other countries.
Squash is a popular recreational sport in India, and is gaining popularity as a competitive sport. It is governed by the Squash Rackets Federation of India. The India men's national squash team has participated in three quarter finals of the World Team Squash Championships since 1967.
Anitha Pauldurai is an Indian basketball player who has been the captain of the India women's national basketball team. She played for 18 years on the Indian women's national team. Anitha is the first only Indian woman to have played nine Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championships continuously representing the national squad. Anitha has a record of 30 medals in national championships.
Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi, simply known as Bhavani Devi,, is an Indian sabre fencer. She is the first Indian fencer to ever qualify for the Olympics after qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is supported by GoSports Foundation through the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme. C.A. Bhavani Devi became the first Indian fencer to qualify for Olympics. The eight-time national champion had failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy is an Indian badminton player. He and his partner, Chirag Shetty, are the first men's doubles pair from India to be ranked inside the top 10 of the BWF World Ranking, with a career-high ranking of 5.
Chirag Chandrashekhar Shetty is an Indian badminton player. He and his partner, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, are the first men's doubles pair from India to be ranked inside the top 10 of the BWF World Ranking, with a career-high ranking of 5.
S. Ilavazhagi also known as S. Ilavazhaki is an Indian who has twice won the carrom world cup. She is considered one of the finest carrom players to have represented India at international level from Tamil Nadu state after A. Maria Irudayam.
Kajal Kumari is an Indian female carrom player who represents India internationally and also works as an officer at the Indian Oil. During the 2018 Carrom World Cup, she created history by becoming the first ever woman to clinch the overall combined Swiss League title after defeating defending Swiss League champion Chamil Cooray of Sri Lanka in the combined Swiss League final.
Saikumar Apoorva also popularly known by her short name S. Apoorva also spelt as either S. Apoorwa or S. Appoorwa is an Indian carrom player and a defending carrom world champion in women's singles. She also currently works as a senior administrative officer in Life Insurance Corporation of India. She is also the first world champion in any sport to have emerged from the city of Hyderabad.
Manoj Sarkar is an Indian para-badminton player .He has won 50 international medals in which he have 19 gold medals, 13 silver medals & 18 bronze medals. He is the only Arjun Awardee and Para Olympian Bronze medalist from Uttarakhand. He is awarded by President of India in 2018 by Arjun award. He is supported by the GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme.