Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and interacted with Indian teams that scripted a golden history at the Chess Olympiad at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday. Indian PM met both men's and women's teams that clinched gold in the open section category at the Chess Olympiad 2024 in Budapest last Sunday.
In a video released by an ANI, PM Modi was spotted receiving a Chess board set from the Indian teams. He also witnessed a quick action of a game between Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa, before holding an interactive session with both men's and women's at his residence.
PM Modi also shared a video of Arjun and Praggnanandhaa displaying their skills in a quick board game and predicted a bright future for Indian chess.
Indian men's team of Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna, and Srinath Narayanan registered a dominating win against Slovenia in their final round matches to ensure India's first-ever gold in an open category. India previously shared a gold with Russia during the 2022 edition of the biennial chess tournament which was held virtually due to a global pandemic.
Indian fans celebrated a double success as the women's team also bagged a gold just after the men's team's heroics in Budapest. Indian women's team of Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Tania Sachdev and Abhijit Kunte (Captain) outperformed Kazakhstan and the United States America to clinch a gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad.
Meanwhile, Modi congratulated both teams with a post on his X on Saturday, saying both team's historic success marks a new chapter in Indian sport.
"Historic win for India as our chess contingent wins the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad!" PM Modi wrote in X post. "India has won the Gold in both open and women’s category at Chess Olympiad! Congratulations to our incredible Men's and Women's Chess Teams. This remarkable achievement marks a new chapter in India's sports trajectory. May this success inspire generations of chess enthusiasts to excel in the game."
