A. Maria Irudayam

A. Maria Irudayam (born 1956 in Chennai, India) is a two-time World Carrom Champion and nine-time national champion of India. He was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award, a sporting honour presented by the Government of India, in 1996. As of 2007, he is the only person to have received the award for carrom.

International championships

He has won many international Carrom Board competitions.

Several times, he was member of the Indian team winning a team event in a tournament. This was the case with the International Carrom Federation Cup in 1989 and 1997, the World Carrom Championships in 1991, 1995 and 2000, the SAARC Carrom Championship between 1997 and 1999, the US Open International Carrom Tournament in 1996 as well as the French Open International Carrom Tournament in 1998.

In addition to this, Irudayam became champion (singles) at the World Carrom Championship in 1991 (where he also became doubles champion with R. Arokiaraj) and 1995, at the Champions Championship in 1998, at the French Open International Carrom Tournament in 1998 as well as at the SAARC Carrom Championship in 1998 (where he also became doubles champion with Jagan Bengle in 1999.

In 1995 Carrom World Cup held at Colombo, he won the Men's Singles title and he emerged as runners-up along with R. Arokiaraj to follow Indian pair in the Men's Doubles Championship final

Moreover, Irudayam made the top three in a lot of championships in the 1990s.

In the 2000 Carrom World Cup he finished at 4th position in the Men's Singles

Personal life

In 2012, Irudayam's wife died while running over by a truck near Chennai.

Awards

• Best Student Sportsman Award by the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalist Association.
• Outstanding Sports Person of Tamil Nadu Award.
• Best International Sports and of his Community. (1996)
• Arjuna Award by the government of India. (1997)
• Best International Player Award by the German Carrom Federation. (1998)