Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a special gift from chess star Vantika Agarwal during his meeting with the double gold medallists of the 2024 Chess Olympiad. During the meeting, PM Modi recalled that he had organised the 'Swarnim Chess Mahotsav' as part of his Khel Mahakumbh initiative in 2010 when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. In 2012, he organised 'Swami Vivekananda Mahila Chess Mahotsav' in Gandhinagar, which was attended by 3,500 women chess players. Vantika also participated in the event and she presented a photograph from the event to PM Modi.
The photo shows Prime Minister Modi congratulating Vantika at the event and expressing his joy at receiving such a 'special' gift.
A great interaction with the Indian chess contingent that won the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad. Watch! https://t.co/1fALfjTOe7
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2024
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attended a shot put match between two members of India's 45th Chess Olympiad winning team, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi, during a visit by the Indian men's and women's chess teams to his residence.
At the recently concluded Chess Olympiad, the Indian men’s and women’s teams made history by winning the first gold medal in their respective categories, joining the elite of countries that have won two golds in the same edition of the competition.
Following this remarkable achievement, Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday met the Indian men's and women's chess teams at his residence to celebrate their success at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Chess Olympiad.
The Prime Minister shared a video on his official social media of Praggnanandhaa and Arjun playing bullet chess, with the caption: “Bullet Chess by two grandmasters. Unbelievable! India's chess future looks bright.”
In the men's event, the US took second place, while Uzbekistan won bronze. In the women's event, Kazakhstan took silver and the US took bronze.
In the final round of the tournament, the Indian men's team of D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and Pentala Harikrishna defeated Slovenia to clinch the gold medal. Victories by Gukesh and Arjun gave India a 2-0 lead, securing the gold medal. Praggnanandhaa later won his match and Vidit drew, resulting in a 3.5-0.5 victory for India.
Meanwhile, the Indian women's team comprising Harika Dronavalli, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal and Tania Sachdev also won gold after beating Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5. Harika, Divya and Vantika won their respective matches in the final while Vaishali drew with Ulviyya Fataliyeva.
(With ANI inputs)
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