Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a unique gift from chess star Vantika Agarwal during his meeting with the Chess Olympiad 2024 double gold medalists.

Source: NDTV

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a special gift from chess star Vantika Agarwal during his meeting with the Chess Olympiad 2024 double gold winners. PM Modi reminisced about organizing the ‘Swarnim Chess Mahotsav’ in 2010 as part of his Khel Mahakumbh initiative when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He also highlighted the ‘Swami Vivekananda Mahila Chess Mahotsav’ held in Gandhinagar in 2012, which saw the participation of 3,500 women chess players. Vantika, who took part in that event, presented PM Modi with a memorable picture from that occasion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched a thrilling game of bullet chess between R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi, two members of India’s 45th Chess Olympiad-winning team, during a visit by the Indian men’s and women’s chess teams to his residence on Wednesday.

In the recently concluded Chess Olympiad, India’s men’s and women’s teams made history by clinching gold medals for the first time in their respective categories, placing India among the select few nations to achieve a double gold in the same edition of the competition.

Following this remarkable achievement, PM Modi met the Indian men’s and women’s chess teams at his residence on Wednesday 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, captioning it: “Bullet Chess by two Grandmasters. Incredible! India’s chess future is very bright.”

In the men’s competition, the USA secured second place, with Uzbekistan winning bronze. In the women’s competition, Kazakhstan claimed the silver medal, and the USA took bronze.

In the final round of the tournament, the Indian men’s team–comprising D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Pentala Harikrishna–defeated Slovenia to clinch the gold medal. Victories from Gukesh and Arjun gave India a 2-0 lead, securing the gold. Praggnanandhaa later won his game, and Vidit drew his, resulting in a 3.5-0.5 win for India.

Meanwhile, the Indian women’s team–featuring 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 round, while Vaishali drew her game against Ulviyya Fataliyeva.

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