Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded India’s young chess players for their historic achievement at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, where both the men’s and women’s teams clinched their maiden gold medals.
India made history on Sunday as the men’s team defeated Slovenia and the women’s team triumphed over Azerbaijan in the final round, securing their first-ever gold medals at the prestigious event.
In the men’s competition, D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, and R Praggnanandhaa secured decisive wins in the 11th and final round. The women’s team secured their gold by defeating Azerbaijan.
In a video shared on social media, Modi interacted with the chess champions, including R Vaishali, D Harika, Tania Sachdev, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi, and Praggnanandhaa.
D Gukesh, the star of the tournament, won 10 out of 11 rounds in the Open category, playing a crucial role in India’s victory.
During the interaction, the players presented the Prime Minister with a chessboard, after which Praggnanandhaa and Erigaisi played a quick game of chess, which left Modi spellbound.
Earlier, the Sports Ministry shared a video of the Indian chess contingent leaving their hotel and heading to meet the Prime Minister.
The Indian men’s team finished with an impressive 21 out of 22 possible points in Budapest, conceding only one draw (2-2) against Uzbekistan while defeating the rest of their opponents.
