With BOSM ’25 right around the corner, the BOSM English Press met with Nachiket Garg, the Captain of the carrom team, to discuss their preparations for the upcoming fest.

The game’s rules differ from what many might expect. Both the black and white coins are worth one point each, and the queen counts for three. Each side can pocket only one of the colours and earns the player points equivalent to the number of opposition coins left after all have been pocketed. This continues for up to eight such boards, or until a side reaches 25 points, whichever comes first.

The carrom event featured teams of five, competing in two singles and two doubles matches, with the first team to win three matches taking the game. Eight outstation teams were slated to participate this time. 

According to Nachiket, there were no teams he would consider rivals. While Manipal Jaipur and SRM University had been coming to BOSM for the past two years, their players weren’t ‘skilled enough’ to compete with the BITS team. This, coupled with the fact that many of the carrom teams often comprised just members of other sports teams competing for fun, meant the home team had secured both the gold and the silver medals in the past two editions.

Talking about their practice regimen, Nachiket mentioned that they had been practicing from 8:30 to 11:00 PM every day except Sundays for the past few weeks. They had inducted eight recruits and two probationary members into the team. They had also ended the probationary period for the last semester’s recruits, which had not happened previously due to the cancellation of InterBITS. 

When asked about the challenges faced, Nachiket explained that the second batch of inventory had not arrived at the time of the interview, which meant that they were missing new boards and powder, among other things. There had also been instances of various other clubs occupying the carrom room without permission, and causing damage to the room and boards, which subsequently forced the team to get the room repainted and the boards replaced. Nachiket added that due to some issues with the accounts department, they were yet to receive the prize money from the previous edition.

For Nachiket, playing carrom was a tradition passed down from his father and grandfather. While he used to play casually before, the BITS Carrom team allowed him to hone his skills inside a competitive environment. He admitted that being a captain put a lot of stress on his shoulders, at one point even severely affecting his game, although by the time of the interview, he had felt like a captain only in a managerial sense and was otherwise ‘just another player.’

While concluding the interview, he urged the GBM to recognise their efforts and acknowledge them as they would any other sport.