NEW DELHI: Indian chess teams returned home on Tuesday to a warm welcome from fans, officials, and their families. The team, including D Gukesh , R Praggnanandhaa , R Vaishali, and men’s team captain Srinath Narayanan , landed early in the morning. India’s men’s and women’s teams won their first-ever gold medals at the Chess Olympiad in Hungary on Sunday.
This win highlights India's growing strength in chess. For men’s captain Srinath Narayanan, the gold medal signified a culmination of years of hard work. ".
..it feels great that I was the captain of one of the strongest teams that won the Olympiad in such a dominant fashion.
When something spectacular like this happens it's usually a result of years of effort and that's what happened here as well," he shared. "We kept on trying and pushing, we had a number of successful results going on and we came close to the podium several times." The 30-year-old Grandmaster noted the exceptional talent of the new generation of players, including Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, and Praggnanandhaa, who are proving to be world-class competitors.
"We came fourth in 2016 but this crop of young players are world beaters. They have shown it not just here but in Candidates and other tournaments as well. They continued what they were doing," he said.
Looking ahead, Narayanan expressed the team’s aspiration to see an Indian world chess champion and voiced his support for Gukesh in his upcoming challenge. "We have the Olympiad gold, now we also.