By IANS
Chennai : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Tuesday evening announced a cash prize of Rs.1 million for World Carrom Champion Ilavazhagi, the daughter of a poor three-wheeler driver.
“Ilavazhagi’s victory has brought fame to the state. This cash gift is being given to encourage her to achieve other, bigger victories,” said a government communiqué issued late in the evening.
Ilavazhagi lives in a tenement in the north Chennai suburb of Vyasarpadi in abject poverty.
Besides India, the other nations that took part in the World Carrom Championship held in France early February were Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the US, Britain, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Switzerland and the host.
Ilavazhagi defeated Rashmi Devi in an all-Indian final.
Carrom is the only game in which men and women compete as equals in an open world event.
The only other world champion of Chennai origin is Vishwanathan Anand, who excels in the game of chess. Though he owns a residence in an upmarket southern suburb here, Anand lives in Spain.