35th sub-jr. national carrom championship from July 2

Faridabad, June 30 (UNI) Around 450 players from 27 states and union territories will vie for top honours in the 35th Sub-junior National Carrom Championship which begins here from July 2.

Haryana Carrom Association president Shyam Sunder Prasad said the tournament will be the biggest sub-junior national carrom event in the country.

Boys and girls below 14 years of age and cadet boys and girls below 12 years would compete in six different events of the championship to be held in the Seminar Hall of Faridabad Institute of Technology, MREI.

About 1000 matches will be held during the six-day championship to be played on 42 carrom boards from 9 AM to 7 PM.

''We (carrom associations) are not financially strong organisation, like of other games such as cricket. Cricket, which has taken over the imagination of the whole country, has in a way brought a lot of damage to the other games.

I am not saying cricket should not grow, but other games should grow also,'' Mr Prasad said.

Last year's winner K Srinivas of Hyderabad and runner up K Tamil Selvan of Tamil Nadu have been given first and second seeds in sub-junior boys singles event.

In sub-junior girls category, last year's winner Suruchi of Bihar and H S K Harika of Andhra have been given top two seedings.

In the boys team event, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have been given first and second seeds while Bihar and Chandigarh have been given top two seeds in girls' event.

UNI