Meet Aisha Mohammad, a women who made a name out of carrom, a game dominated by men

Mumbai, Jan 3: She recently won the women's singles title in Mumbai District Ranking carom tournament organised by Bajarang Krida Mandal and sponsored by the Bank of Maharashtra at the Maharashtra Labour Welfare Board Hall in Lower Parel in October.

State champion Aisha Mohammad has made a long journey to become an accomplished carom player today. Mother of a son, Aisha started playing the sport she has made a name in at the age of seven when her father Santosh Hyalinge bought her a carom board. She grew up mastering the game at her home in Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra's Thane district and the reason is that the game was known to be one dominated by men and the local carom clubs had a lot of male players making it uncomfortable for a woman aspirant, according to a report in People's Archive of Rural India (PARI).

When Aisha was eight, she took part in a competition for the first time and played against a senior opponent. Though she lost the match but it flagged off a special journey for her and she went on becoming only better from then onwards. In 2003-04, Aisha won Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Award, Maharashtra's highest sports award.

Aisha found her life partner also in a carrom player and it was Mohammad Sajid who also has a decent command over the game. They met each other at a tournament and got married despite objections from their families, the PARI report added. Aisha now lives in Jalgaon in Maharashtra with her son, husband and father. She works at Jain Irrigation Systems and also trains children in carrom in school, the report added.