Chess grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa expressed pride at India’s double gold medal win at the recently-concluded Chess Olympiad and added that the triumph would take the game to more people. In the recently-concluded Chess Olympiad, India’s men’s and women’s teams made history, securing gold medals for the first time in their respective categories and joining the elite company of countries to have pulled off a double of gold medals in the same edition of the competition. Praggnanandhaa, his sister Vaishali Rameshbabu, and men’s team captain Srinath Narayanan were given a warm welcome at the Chennai airport after the win.
Speaking to ANI, Praggnanandhaa said, “Both the men’s and women’s teams won the gold medal. This is a very historic achievement, and there are very few teams who have won both medals at the same time, and we are winning for the first time. This is a very proud moment for all of us. I think this win will take chess to more people.”
He expressed that during the last Olympiad back in Chennai, India was close to winning gold, but the last two games did not go well, and the men’s and women’s teams both had to settle for bronze medals.
“But this time around, we were more experienced. We were able to use that experience and get the gold. There was no technique as such; you just have to play at your best,” he added.
Men’s team captain Srinath also told ANI that the journey was pretty “smooth” for the men’s team as they managed to win 10 matches in a dominant fashion and drew one.
“India has won the gold medal at the Olympiad for the first time. It is a historic achievement. I was the captain of the men’s team. And it has been a very smooth journey as far as the men’s team is concerned. We won 10 matches. We drew one match. And we won by a margin of four match points. We had a very impressive win right from the start… Everything happened smoothly. It was a complete team effort and a historic achievement,” said Srinath.
Srinath highlighted multiple milestones in the team’s journey, like beating the host nation Hungary, the European Champions Serbia, the top seed team USA, China, one of the toughest opponents for India, and Asian Games champions Iran.
The team captain said that having Chess legend Viswanathan Anand in Budapest was a nice experience and it was great to win in front of him.
“I look up to him. Having him around gave us a lot of positivity,” he added.
Praggnanandhaa’s sister Vaishali also told ANI, “I am very happy to be a part of the Indian Gold Medal team. Both teams have won gold medals. It is a historic moment. I am very happy that both men and women were able to perform well this time. We were close to a gold medal in previous Olympiad, but the last match did not go our way and had to settle for bronze. It was a painful moment for us.”
Vaishali thanked the coaches for their help in the team’s triumph.
In the final round of the tournament, India’s men’s team of D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Pentala Harikrishna beat Slovenia to clinch the gold medal.
It was the wins from D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi that gave India a 2-0 lead and confirmed the gold medal. Later in the final round, Praggnandhaa also won his game, and Vidit ended his bout with a draw. India defeated Slovenia 3.5-0.5 to seal the gold medal.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s chess team of Harika Dronavalli, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal, and Tania Sachdev also won gold after beating Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5.
Harika Dronavalli, Divya Deshmukh, and Vantika Agrawal won their respective matches in the final round. While, R Vaishali drew her match against Ulviyya Fataliyeva.
