Indian carrom gets the High Court nod to compete in the World Championship in Italy

Representative Image: India will field four men and four women in the World Championship.  | Photo Credit: R Selvamuthukumar

Indian carrom has gained the clearance of the Delhi High Court through an order by Justice Amit Bansal on Tuesday, to compete in the ninth World Carrom championship to be staged in Italy from November 30 to December 6.

In an ongoing case, the All India Carrom Federation (AICF) had filed a Civil Miscellaneous Application, seeking interim relief to be able to select the national team and compete in the World Championship.

“India has consistently sent teams for the said event, which is held once in four years. Therefore, it is important that India sends a team for this event for the current year as well. It emerges from a reading of the prospectus that the entry with regard to Indian team has to be made on or before 30th September 2026, and for that purpose, there is urgency in the matter as the selection of the team has to be done on or before 29th September 2026,” the order observed.

The Order further pointed out that the Union Government had failed to file a counter affidavit despite being given four weeks time when the notice was issued on July 30 but had sought two more weeks of time.

“Considering the aforesaid submissions and the urgency involved in selecting and sending the Indian team for the World Championship, this Court permits the petitioner association to go ahead with the process of selection of the Indian team for the aforesaid Carrom World Championship and to take all consequential steps to ensure participation of the Indian team”.

The WP (C) 10610/2026 was to be heard on September 14, and having dealt with the emergency situation through the CM application, the court listed the case for further hearing on December 7.

The AICF had earlier got a relief from the Double Bench of Delhi High Court which termed the Impugned Order passed on October 29, 2025, as “unsustainable”.

Owing to the Impugned Order, the AICF could not function, as it was deemed to have lost its status as a National Sports Federation along with the right to use the expressions ‘India’ and ‘Indian’ in any manner.

Also read | Delhi High Court provides relief to Carrom Federation in fight for NSF status

Thus, the AICF was unable to conduct the National Championship or the Federation Cup which form the basis of ranking the players to facilitate their selection for international competitions.

The AICF secretary general, Bharti Narayan, has announced the National ranking tournament in Delhi from September 27 to 29, and that will be the sole criteria for choosing the national team.

Four men and four women can be fielded by each of the State units. Entry deadline has been announced as September 20.

India will field four men and four women in the World Championship. Four more men and four more women players will also be eligible to compete in the Swiss League event of the World Championship.

After hosting the first World Championship in the Capital in 1991, India was originally scheduled to host the ninth edition of the championship, which is staged once in four years. However, the AICF had to drop the idea of hosting the World Championship owing to the continued legal battle with the Union Sports Ministry. 

Published on Sep 09, 2026

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