Ali Thameem
Carrom duo Ismail Azmeen and Hassan Nazim made history today as they became the first-ever Maldivians to make it to the men’s doubles final of an International Championship.
The second day of the ongoing Asian Carrom Championship has seen the men’s and women’s pairs take on their respective opponents. Azmeen and Nazim made a dramatic comeback in the semifinal against an Indian duo, having conceded the first set.
The men’s pair faced another Indian pair in the final and unfortunately lost the game.
It was nonetheless a historic day for Maldivian Carrom. The women’s pair Aishath Nahufa and Aminath Widhaadh made the nation proud as they fought their way into the semifinals. The pair however suffered defeat at the hands of their Indian rivals.
Widhaadh and Nahufa faced a Sri Lankan pair in the 3rd place playoff but were unfortunate not to win a bronze title despite giving their best effort on the board.
What’s on Day 3?
The sixth Asian Carrom Championship is set to resume tomorrow morning, with team events for men and women to be held separately. The seven teams will be cast into two groups – seeding being allocated based on how the teams had performed in the most recent World Championship.
Each tie in the group stage will see two singles games and one doubles game (the match winner takes all two points regardless of whether it is a 2-0 or a 3-1). The group-stage winner will face off against the runner-ups of the other group in the semifinals, which decides the finals and third-place playoffs.
The men’s and women’s singles events are scheduled to be played on day 4 and day 5 of the tournament; from Tuesday morning till Wednesday evening.
