R Praggnanandhaa, his sister R Vaishali and their mother Nagalakshmi© Twitter@chessbaseindia
India made chess history on Sunday as its men's and women's teams clinched their maiden gold medals in the 45th Chess Olympiad after beating their respective opponents in the final round. The men's team defeated Slovenia after D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanadhaa won their respective matches in the 11th and final round match. The women's team beat Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 to clinch the title.
There was double joy for Ramesh Babu, the father of R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali, as both his children won gold in the most prestigious biennial team chess event in the world. While GM Praggnanandhaa was an integral part of the men's team, his elder sister Vaishali also played a key role in the women's title triumph.
A video posted by ChessBase India has gone viral which shows Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali and their mother Nagalakshmi together after the win. "Indeed A Proud Mom," a social media user wrote on the video.
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) September 23, 2024
"We are very proud (of Praggnanandhaa). My daughter Vaishali's team also won the gold medal, so we're happy about that as well," said Ramesh Babu.
"All the team players have done very well and won gold medals." He added that the success of Indian chess players had given a huge boost to the game in the country.
"Nowadays, chess has become very popular after cricket. More and more people are getting interested. Apart from academics, playing chess is becoming a part of their career. Youngsters are taking it up as a career." He added that both Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali were aiming for more success in their career.
"Every chess player wants to become a world champion, and they (Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa) have to improve their rating. So, that is their aim right now."