GAMA - ANNUAL CARROMS COMPETITION 2009
TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHTS
GAMA held its first Annual Carrom Tournament on March 21st at the Clay Madsen Recreation Center in Round Rock. We had almost 50 participants with some of the older members of the community leading the way.

Games were divided into 3 categories:
- Men's singles
- Women's singles
- Adult doubles

We had almost 11 games being played in parallel in the morning session when the singles eliminations were conducted. The afternoon session paved way for the doubles matches and the finals for the singles categories. Lunch (Veg and Non-veg Biriyani) was provided for a nominal fee to all participants at the venue. Overall it was a great time for the carrom enthusiasts in our community to spend a fun-filled day together.

Santhan kicks off the tournament with rules of the game.
MEET THE WINNERS

Men’s Singles Champion

 Name: Jithin Sasidharan
Native place: Thiruvananthapuram
Residence: Austin
Working / Studying at: Working at Flextronics as Business Analyst
Years in Austin: 3
Hobbies: Basketball, Music, Pool, Poker
How you felt when you became the men’s singles champion: Surprised and elated. Joined the tournament to have some fun. I haven't played carroms since I have been in the United States so it felt really good to be in the zone in some of the matches.
Anything else you would like to say about the tournament: It was very well organized and the venue was perfect for this. What's the next tournament??





Men’s Singles Runner-up

 Name: Suresh Venukuttan
Native place: Koratty (near Chalakkudy), Thrissur
Residence: Austin
Working / Studying at: Working at USPS
Years in Austin: 4
How you felt when you became the men’s singles runner-up: Disappointed that I couldn't become the champion - next time!!!
Anything else you would like to say about the tournament: Looking forward to next year’s tournament!

Women’s Singles Champion

 Name: Lakshmy Haridas
Native place: Cochin
Residence: Austin
Working / Studying at: Working at Capital Metro
Years in Austin: 3.5 years
Hobbies: Reading, Sports, Dancing, Traveling
How you felt when you became the women’s singles champion: I was happy...I enjoyed playing with Amritha and thoroughly enjoyed the comments from the spectators. I came into the competition to have fun and I enjoyed myself.
Anything else you would like to say about the tournament: It was very well organized. Kudos to the Carrom committee! Looking forward to many more events





Women’s Singles Runner-up

 Name: Amritha Ganga
Native place: Calicut
Residence: Cedar Park
Working / Studying at: Working at TDCJ
Years in Austin: 4
Hobbies: Gardening, Traveling
How you felt when you became the women’s singles runner-up: Hmmmmmmm............"Lakshmy won!!! I'm gonna beat her next time"
Anything else you would like to say about the tournament: It was just GREAT !!!Reminds me of the umpteen number of games we used to play back in Kerala. It was lots and lots of fun and yummy Biryani !!!! :) When do we get to play the next tournament ??!!!

Adult Doubles Champion

 Name: Ramachandran P G (Ram)
Native place: Palakkad
Residence: Austin
Working / Studying at: Working at IBM
Years in Austin: 8 years
How you felt when you became the adult doubles champion: This is a dream come true for me. Though I have believed in my talent, critics, press and the international community had cast a doubt. I always believed I could break into the big league. The striker was small leading to many minuses, the ambiance didn't have neon lights and it wasn't my home ground either. Moreover the rules were stacked up against us but I never gave up. Thanks to the Malayalee community for giving me an opportunity to show off my talent.
Anything else you would like to say about the tournament: Very well organized tournament. I want to thank my fans who have been following me all these years for their unrelenting support. This one is for you. Copyright info - Many of the comments above have been stolen from other interviews





Adult Doubles Champion

 Name: Sajan Lukose
Native place: Kottayam
Residence: Austin
Working / Studying at: Working at IBM
Years in Austin: 10
Hobbies: Tech Gadgets
How you felt when you became the adult doubles champion: Lokam keezhadakkiya Pratheethi!!!
Anything else you would like to say about the tournament: Well organized,fun event. Hats off to the creative brains behind the idea.

Adult Doubles Runner-up

 Name: Hari Mony
Native place: Kollam
Residence: Austin
Working / Studying at: Working at IBM
Years in Austin: 9 years
Hobbies: Cricket, Reading
How you felt when you became the adult doubles runner-up: Disappointed that we choked in the last game but it felt great to be in the final
Anything else you would like to say about the tournament: Very well organized!





Adult Doubles Runner-up

 Name: Suchitra Iyer
Native place: Mumbai / Palakkad
Residence: Austin
Working / Studying at: Studying at University of Texas, Austin
Years in Austin: 2.5 years
Hobbies: Reading, Cooking
How you felt when you became the adult doubles runner-up: Glad we could put up a good fight.
Anything else you would like to say about the tournament: Turned out to be a fun Saturday, kudos to the organizing committee