Khazima — the remarkable journey of India’s carrom World champion Premium

Khazima, who is coached by her father Mahboob Basha, has fulfilled her brother Abdul Rahman’s dream of winning the title; she hopes to renovate the coaching centre where she honed her skills and aspires to spread the sport far and wide

 The banner at the entrance of a dilapidated building with a thatched roof over it reads: Ella Pugazhum Iraivan Oruvanuke (all glory belongs to God). On the banner is a picture of a young girl who has just made history in the sport of carrom.

As you enter the building — it’s a coaching centre run by Mahboob Basha in Cherian Nagar, a 10-15 minute walk from Tollgate (a north Chennai neighbourhood) — a frail girl, wearing a dark tracksuit and a blue India jersey, walks briskly and introduces herself.

She then enters a hall that has six carrom boards with hardly any space between them and begins chatting casually with the kids, aged between six and 16, who are all busy playing.

M.B. Khazima, who recently bagged three titles — women’s singles, women’s doubles (with V. Mithra), and women’s team championship — in the Carrom World Cup in the San Francisco Bay Area (USA), has a no-nonsense approach to life and sport.

The daughter of an autorickshaw driver, it has been a journey filled with struggles for the Chennai lass. All that looks to be over, for now. In recognition of her exploits, the Tamil Nadu Government awarded the youngest World Cup champion in the world with a cash prize of ₹1 crore.

Mahboob Basha, father, coach, mentor, and guide to the World Cup champion, is the driving force behind his daughter’s rise. He struggled financially and sought help to ensure his daughter could take part in tournaments. When the COVID-19 lockdown struck, the family faced further hardships.

“During lockdown, I couldn’t ride my auto and started selling tea for a living. It was a very difficult time. Seeing our family struggle, my son, a former junior national carrom champion, began to work in a private company. We are indebted to the Tamil Nadu Government, the Chief Minister Mr. M. K. Stalin and the Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin for helping us financially,” said Basha.