Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov congratulated the Indian team on their unprecedented double gold in both the men’s and women’s events at the 2024 Chess Olympiad. India’s men’s and women’s teams won gold medals for the first time in the 45th Chess Olympiad on Sunday. The men’s team, led by excellent performances by D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi, won the gold medal following a dramatic final-round victory over Slovenia. The women’s team, which included Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Tania Sachdev, and Abhijit Kunte, also won gold, defeating Azerbaijan by 3.5-0.5.
“India’s double gold performance is quite outstanding. “Vishy’s children” have grown up, and chess is returning home! There were also two American flags on the podiums, which is worth noting. “Add Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, with no European flags,” Kasparov said on X.
The men’s team of Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Harikrishna Pentala, captained by Srinath Narayanan, led throughout the competition, winning 10 and drawing one. Before the last round, they were two points ahead of China.
In the last round, India needed only a tie to win the gold medals or China to lose their match. However, India persisted in its pursuit of victory, defeating Slovenia 3.5-0.5.
The women’s team made a solid start, leading the event after seven rounds and winning all of their matches. They stuttered in round 8, losing to Poland and then tying with Team USA, but finished strong. Going into the last round, India and Kazakhstan were tied for first place, and the fight for the medals was on the line.
Listen to the newest songs only on JioSaavn.com. The team of Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali R, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev, led by Abhijit Kunte, kept their cool and delivered, defeating Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 in the final. At the same time, Kazakhstan and the United States tied 2-2, leaving India as the event’s solitary winner.