Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the Indian men’s and women’s chess teams at his residence on Wednesday, congratulating them for their remarkable achievement of winning double gold medals at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Chess Olympiad.
In this edition of the Olympiad, India’s teams made history, securing gold medals in both the men’s and women’s categories for the first time. This accomplishment places India among the few nations to have won double golds in the same tournament.
Following their victories, the teams were welcomed by PM Modi, who interacted with the players and acknowledged their outstanding performances. The meeting came after a video shared by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) showed the teams heading to the Prime Minister’s residence.
“Our proud Indian #Chess teams head to meet our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi post their stupendous Gold medal victory at #ChessOlympiad2024. Super proud of you champs! Keep India’s flag flying high on the global stage,” SAI posted on X.
Russian chess legend and former world champion Garry Kasparov also praised Team India for their extraordinary achievement, referencing the legacy of Viswanathan Anand in nurturing the next generation of Indian chess players.
“A very impressive double gold achievement by India. ‘Vishy’s children’ are all grown up, and chess is coming home! Two American flags on the podiums as well, worthy of note. Add Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, with no European flags,” Kasparov wrote on X.
India’s cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar expressed his congratulations to the team, writing on X: “Two Golds, One Nation! Congratulations to both our men’s and women’s teams for securing the first spot at the ChessOlympiad2024.”
Viswanathan Anand, India’s global chess legend, also congratulated the team. He specifically acknowledged the women’s team, singling out the performances of Vantika Agrawal and Divya Deshmukh.
“Congrats to India’s Women’s team. Great result by the whole team and captain @chessgmkunte, and a special mention to @DivyaDeshmukh05 and to @vantikachess for her performance,” Anand posted on X.
In the tournament, the U.S. claimed second place in the men’s event and took bronze in the women’s competition. Uzbekistan secured bronze in the men’s category, while Kazakhstan earned silver in the women’s event.
India’s men’s team, comprising D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Pentala Harikrishna, defeated Slovenia to win gold. With crucial wins from Gukesh and Erigaisi, India secured a 2-0 lead, which was further cemented by Praggnanandhaa’s victory and Vidit’s draw. India triumphed over Slovenia 3.5-0.5 to clinch the gold.
On the women’s side, Harika Dronavalli, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev took home the gold by defeating Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 in the final round. Victories by Harika, Divya, and Vantika ensured the win, while Vaishali secured a draw in her match against Ulviyya Fataliyeva. (ANI)