Mumbai, Mar 28 (IANS): World Champion Prashant More of Reserve Bank of India will be the favourite to defend his title in the single competition for the 49th Senior National Carrom Championships being organised by the All India Carrom Federation (AICF) in association with Maharahstra Chess Association and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

More along with S. Appoorwa of LIC were given the top billings for the respective men's and women's singles competitions in the Naitonals commencing here on Wednesday.

Internationals Sandeep Dive of Air India and Maharastra's Abhijit Tripankar are seeded second and third respectively behind More in the men's singles draw. In the women's competition, Appoorwa is followed by PSPB challengers Rashmi Kumari and K. Nagajothi as the second and third seeds.

This will be the third successive time that MCA is proud hosting the Senior National Championship, having organised it Kudal, Sindhudurg in 2019 and in Jalgaon in 2020. The Nationals were not held in 2021 because of a surge in Covid-19 cases in 2021.

The championship will consist of six events - men's singles, women's sinles, men's team championship (states), women's team championship (states), men's team championship (institutions), and Women's team championship (institutions).

The seedings - Women: S. Appoorwa (LIC), 2. Rashmi Kumari (PSPB), 3. K. Nagajothi (PSPB), 4. Khushboo Rani (Bihar), 5. Nilam Ghodake (JISL), 6. Kajal Kumari (PSPB). 7. I. Ilavazhaki (PSPB), 8. Parimala Devi (PSPB).

Men: 1. Prashant More (Reserve Bank), 2. Sandeep Dive (AI), 3. Abhijit Tripankar (MAH), 4. Zaheer Pasha (Reserve Bank), 5. K. Srinivas (PSPB), 6. Abdul Rahman (UP), 7. Mohd. Ghufran (PSPB), 8. Irshad Ahmed (Vid).