She is just a girl but she is already making waves in the women’s world. This frail-looking Srikakulam girl went on to become Andhra’s women carrom champion defeating the much-older I.A.N. Lakshmi recently in the first ranking tournament organised by Andhra Carrom Association here recently. Meet 12-year-old L. Haripriya, who incidentally won her maiden national title by finishing first in the National Cadet Championship at Varanasi.
Born and brought up near Ichchapuram, Haripriya overcame many hurdles to make a mark at the national-level and she is gearing up to achieve more laurels in carrom in the higher age groups.
“Haripriya is a cool customer. While releasing the striker, she maintains great amount of composure. She never looks perturbed and clears the coins clinically,” says Neeraj Kumar Sampathy, secretary of ACA.
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An old carrom board at home drew the attention of young Haripriya and steadily she began pocketing the coins with finesse. She showed a great degree of interest in learning the game and her father Venugopala Rao, sensing the genuine interest of his daughter, introduced her to the game in a formal manner.
In a couple of years Haripriya went on to win several State tournaments and also figured in national events. “She finished fourth in the national cadet event held at Kolkata and in the recently held national cadet championship at Varanasi she became the national champion,” says her father.
Haripriya is current Andhra junior No. 1 and also the senior champion. “She needs to settle down in a city like Visakhapatnam or Vijayawada where there are many opportunities. She needs to hone her skills in a competitive environment. Nurturing the game under the vigil eyes of qualified coaches is imperative,” says former ACA secretary Abdul Jaleel.
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The State association has made A.A. Reddy, secretary of the Visakhapatnam association Haripriya’s personal coach and mentor.
Administrators feel the need to play more number of tournaments to gain the much-needed exposure. “Haripriya needs to assess her strengths and weaknesses. This is possible by playing in a good number of tournaments,” says national qualified umpire Azmatullah.
Haripriya is pursuing Class VIII at Zilla Parishad High School at Jagathi village in Kaviti mandal in Srikakulam. “Owing to power cut, she is unable to practice regularly in the evening,” mourns Venugopala Rao, the champ’s father.
Haripriya is now at Hyderabad taking part in the South Zone carrom championship representing Andhra. Her ultimate aim is to play for the country and win medals in international events.