New Delhi: India etched its name in the history books by claiming double gold at the Chess Olympiad after edging past their respective opponents in Budapest. The men’s and women’s teams registered their maiden title wins in a rare clean sweep of gold medals.
While the Indian men’s team brushed aside Slovenia 3.5-0.5, their women’s counterparts crushed Azerbaijan with an identical margin in the 11th and final round in the 45th edition of the chess’ global showpiece event in the Hungarian capital.
By registering a famous clean sweep, India became only the third nation after China and the erstwhile Soviet Union to claim gold medals in both men’s and women’s categories in the same edition of the Chess Olympiad.
Indian men bagged bronze medals – in 2014 and 2022, while the women won bronze in the 2022 edition in Chennai.
India’s heroes of the victory were 18-year-old World Championship challenger D Gukesh and 21-year-old Arjun Erigaise, who put their game faces on in key games. R Praggnanandhaa, too, delivered the goods in the final round to ensure a comfortable victory for India in the open section.
On the fourth board, Vidit Gujrathi played out an inconsequential stalemate to give India another thumping win.
Following the historical win, the Indian players recreated Lionel Messi’s iconic ‘walk’ celebration which he did after Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup final win against France in Qatar.
Messi’s celebration was later imitated by Indian cricket skipper Rohit Sharma following the T20 World Cup 2024 win in the Americas in June.
WATCH THE ICONIC CELEBRATION
INDIA BECAME OLYMPIAD CHAMPIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. 🇮🇳
– They did “Rohit Sharma walk” while receving the Trophy.pic.twitter.com/rItbI45M8z
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 23, 2024
The Indian men notched up a remarkable 21 points out of a possible 22. They conceded just one draw against Uzbekistan while defeating the rest of the opponents.
The Indian women put the icing on the cake with a 3.5-0.5 victory against Azerbaijan.
D Harika showed her technical superiority on the top board while Divya Deshmukh breezed past her opponent to seal her individual gold medal on the third board.
After Rameshbabu Vaishali drew her game, the Indian team rubber-stamped the win with Vantika Agrawal scoring another superb triumph.
Chess Olympiad: Following the landmark victories win, the Indian players recreated Lionel Messi’s iconic ‘walk’ celebration on the podium. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
