The Indian chess team celebrated their historic double gold at the Chess Olympiad 2024 in true Rohit Sharma style. Both the men's and women's teams made headlines in Budapest on September 22, clinching gold in their respective categories.
The young chess players from India proudly displayed the national tricolor on the podium. Tania Sachdev and D Gukesh captured attention by recreating Lionel Messi’s iconic walk from the 2022 FIFA World Cup celebration. This joyful display echoed Rohit Sharma’s earlier celebration after India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win.
India's performance at the Chess Olympiad
D Gukesh made history, securing his second individual gold medal and leading the men’s team to its first-ever gold at the Olympiad. He remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, achieving 9 wins and a draw in 10 matches.
Additionally, Arjun Erigaisi shone on Board 3, being named the best performer with 10 wins out of 11 games, contributing significantly to India’s remarkable 21 out of 22 possible points.
Following the men's triumph, the women’s team, including Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Tania Sachdev, and Abhijit Kunte, also secured gold, marking an unprecedented double gold achievement for India at the Chess Olympiad.
Indian men had earlier won two bronze medals in 2014 and 2022 in the tournament, while the women had bagged a bronze in the 2022 edition held in Chennai.
The Indian team ended with a tally of 21 points out of a possible 22in all, winning 10 matches and conceding a lone 2-2 draw against last Olympiad winner Uzbekistan.
The story of the domination was such that out of a total 44 games, the Indian team suffered just one loss when Pragganandhaa was beaten by Wesley So of USA in the penultimate round.
