News, New Delhi
I had to wait for 20 years to get a gold medal in the prestigious Chess Olympiad.
TheIndian men's and women's teams created history on Sunday by winning gold medals for the first time in the Chess Olympiad. In the tournament held in Budapest (Hungary), both teams played with patience in the face of pressure to win the final round. The men's team beat Slovenia and the women's team beat Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5.
For the women's team, the 33-year-old Harika was at her technical best to win the first bout. The 18-year-old Divya Deshmukh defeated Gauhar Bedullayeva in the third round to seal India's victory.
India's women's team captain Abhijit Kunte, men's team captain D.V. Arjun Erigaisi and captain Srinath Narayanan were also present.
"I am more emotional than my colleagues. I have been playing for this gold medal for 20 years and I am happy that my wait is finally over, "Harika said. "I am proud of my colleagues. All the girls are very young. However, he made the country successful while taking advantage of the opportunity. My performance was not satisfactory, but the rest of our team played their best, "Harika said.
Divya, who recently won the girls world junior championship chess tournament in Gandhinagar, also excelled in the Olympiad. She scored 9.5 points in 11 matches. She was the most successful player in the women's team.
"We started the tournament very well. After that, we did not get the expected success in the middle rounds, but the way we faced these shocks and recovered from them was commendable. I'm proud of our team. The feeling of winning a gold medal is difficult to put into words. I'm very happy. I am satisfied that I could play my best game at the individual level as well, "she said.
