Flashing radiant smiles, the members of India’s trailblazing chess teams, fresh from their history-making gold at the Chess Olympiad 2024, returned to a heroes’ welcome in India on Tuesday. The quartet of D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, R Vaishali, and men’s team captain Srinath Narayanan, landed early in the morning to a chorus of cheers from fans, officials, and their families.
Their arrival was a celebration of India’s incredible achievement at the Olympiad in Hungary. Both the men’s and women’s teams had scripted history on Sunday, winning their maiden gold medals, solidifying India’s emergence as a chess powerhouse. The airport was abuzz with excitement, as fans swarmed the teams, eager to capture a glimpse of the champions.
Gukesh, who was instrumental in the men’s team’s dominance with an unbeaten run throughout the tournament, proudly displayed his individual and team gold medals for the cameras. The 18-year-old prodigy is now set to challenge China’s Ding Liren for the world championship title in November. He became the youngest ever challenger to the crown after winning the Candidates Tournament in April. “It’s very special, since both the teams won the gold,” Gukesh told PTI Videos.
The brother-sister duo of Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali Narayanan, who arrived before Gukesh, were greeted with garlands, bouquets, and traditional stoles. Fans scrambled to take selfies with them, eager to share in their moment of triumph.
“I’m very happy that we have won the Olympiad for the first time, we have only won a bronze till now. And we managed to win in both sections so it’s a very special feeling and a proud moment for us,” said Praggnanandhaa, reflecting on the team’s historic achievement.
Vaishali, a key player in the women’s team’s victory, shared the bittersweet emotions of the journey, “It’s a dream moment. Last time in the Chennai Olympiad we won bronze, we were so close to winning gold we missed it in the last round and it was very painful. I’m glad that both teams have won gold. It’s a historical moment.”
She detailed the women’s team’s strategy and resilience, “We won six matches in a row and then lost to Poland, painful defeat but Im happy that we came back. We drew against US next and last two matches we had to win to secure gold. Very happy that we delivered in the crucial moment.”
For men’s captain Narayanan, the gold medal is a culmination of years of dedication and hard work. “…it feels great that I was the captain of one of the strongest teams that won the Olympiad in such a dominant fashion. When something spectacular like this happens it’s usually a result of years of effort and that’s what happened here as well,” he expressed.
Narayanan highlighted the team’s consistent progress and the emergence of a new generation of world-class players, “We kept on trying and pushing, we had a number of successful results going on and we came close to the podium several times. We came fourth in 2016 but this crop of young players are world beaters. They have shown it not just here but in Candidates and other tournaments as well. They continued what they were doing.”
With the Olympiad gold secured, the next goal for India is to produce a world champion. The entire nation will be cheering for Gukesh as he takes on this challenge later this year. “We have the Olympiad gold, now we also want the world champion in India, So we will be cheering for Gukesh,” added Narayanan, expressing the shared ambition of the Indian chess community.
