New Delhi: Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov praised the Indian team for winning a historic double gold in both the men's and women's events at the 2024 Chess Olympiad.
The women's team of Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal, Tania Sachdev and Abhijeet Kunte also won the gold medal by defeating Azerbaijan 3.50.5.
“India winning a double gold medal is a tremendous achievement. The “Vishki ke lads” have grown up and chess is coming back home! The two US flags on the podium are also worth noting. Add to this Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, where there is no European flag,” Kasparov posted on X.
The men's team of Praggnanandhaa R, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and Harikrishna Pentala, captained by Sreenath Narayan, won 10 matches and drew just one in the entire tournament. Before the final round, they were 2 points ahead of China.
In the final round, India needed only a draw to win the gold medal and had to hope that China did not win their match. However, India continued to push for victory and beat Slovenia 3.50.5.
The women's team started off very well, leading the event after 7 rounds, winning all their matches. They faltered in round 8, losing to Poland and then drawing with Team USA, but put up a strong performance. Going into the final round, India was tied for first place with Kazakhstan, and the medal race continued until the final moments.
The team of Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali R, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal and Tania Sachdev, captained by Abhijeet Kunte, showed great composure and won the final match 3.50.5 against Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan, on the other hand, managed only a 22 draw with the USA, leaving India as the sole winners of the event.
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– / Written By Top News Bulletin
Image Credit: KhasKhabar.