GM R Praggnanandhaa is optimistic about the possibility of the Indian team winning gold at the forthcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou after earning a silver medal at the World Cup.
Anurag Thakur, the sports minister, honoured India’s newest chess star at his home on Friday. believes that India has a “good chance” of taking home a gold medal at the Asian Games.
The 10-person Indian squad competing at the continental event includes Praggnanandhaa, who has recently had a fantastic run in events.
Other Indian chess players have advanced quickly in the international scene in addition to Praggnanandhaa.
“The last few months I have been doing really well. It gives me a lot of confidence. I think we (India) have very good chances of winning gold,” Praggnanandhaa told PTI.
A day after the GM met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 18-year-old, who won the youngest silver medal at the FIDE World Cup last week, received congratulations from Thakur.
“Praggnanandhaa became very mature at a young age, he is mentally tough, his moves are so speedy and the way he has prepared mentally, physically as well as on the chess board is indeed praiseworthy,” Thakur said.
“I want to congratulate him. To become and International Master at 10 and beat (Magnus) Carlsen at 16 is a huge achievement. He has worked hard to achieve a lot of things in the past few years. His parents also have had a huge role to play,” he added Praggnanandhaa, who received a grand welcome in Chennai on Wednesday, said he is delighted that the sport of chess is getting so much attention in the country.
“Very happy that we are getting this support (from the government). In many other countries, players don’t get the support. It (support) is very essential. I’m very happy that chess is growing. As a fan of the sport, I’m happy to see that it’s getting more and more popular.” His parents were also present and Praggnanandhaa highlighted how important the two have been in his journey.
“They are my main pillars of support, without them I don’t think me standing here would have been possible and I’m very happy that they are being recognised now because their efforts much bigger,” he added.
