Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Rewards Chess Champions Arjun Erigaisi and Harika Dronavalli with Rs. 25 Lakhs Each
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 27: After winning double gold medals at the Chess Olympiad, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced a cash reward of Rs. 25 lakhs for each Indian chess grandmaster, Arjun Erigaisi and Harika Dronavalli.
In the recently-concluded Chess Olympiad, India’s men’s and women’s teams made history by securing gold medals for the first time in their respective categories. This achievement places India among the elite countries to have won double gold medals in the same edition of the competition.
Revanth Reddy also felicitated Arjun and Harika, who hail from Telangana. Telangana Ministers Tummala Nageswar Rao and MLA Naini Rajender Reddy, along with Telangana Sports Authority Chairman Shiva Sena Reddy, were present during the event.
“Chief Minister Revanth Reddy congratulated Telangana’s chess champions, Harika Dronavalli from Khammam and Arjun Erigaisi from Hanumakonda, for winning gold at the FIDE 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest. This marks a historic achievement as they are the first Indian players to clinch gold at this prestigious event. During a special meeting at his Jubilee Hills residence, the CM honored their incredible accomplishment by announcing a reward of Rs. 25 lakhs each,” the Telangana CMO wrote on X.
In the men’s competition, the USA secured the second spot, while Uzbekistan won the bronze. In the women’s competition, Kazakhstan got silver, and the USA secured bronze.
In the final round of the tournament, India’s men’s team, consisting of D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Pentala Harikrishna, beat Slovenia to clinch the gold medal. Wins from D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi gave India a 2-0 lead, confirming the gold medal. Praggnandhaa also won his game, and Vidit ended his bout with a draw, leading to a 3.5-0.5 victory over Slovenia.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s chess team, consisting of Harika Dronavalli, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal, and Tania Sachdev, also won gold after beating Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5. Harika Dronavalli, Divya Deshmukh, and Vantika Agrawal won their respective matches in the final round, while R Vaishali drew her match against Ulviyya Fataliyeva.
Doubts Revealed
Telangana -: Telangana is a state in southern India. Its capital city is Hyderabad.
CM -: CM stands for Chief Minister, who is the head of the government in a state in India.
Revanth Reddy -: Revanth Reddy is the Chief Minister of Telangana, a state in India.
Chess Champions -: Chess Champions are people who are very good at playing chess and have won important competitions.
Arjun Erigaisi -: Arjun Erigaisi is an Indian chess player who has won many chess tournaments.
Harika Dronavalli -: Harika Dronavalli is an Indian chess player who has also won many chess tournaments.
Rs. 25 Lakhs -: Rs. 25 Lakhs is a large amount of money in India, equal to 2.5 million rupees.
Chess Olympiad -: The Chess Olympiad is a big international chess competition where teams from different countries compete.
Gold Medals -: Gold Medals are awards given to the winners of a competition. They are usually made of gold or look like gold.
Slovenia -: Slovenia is a country in Europe.
Azerbaijan -: Azerbaijan is a country in the region between Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
Telangana Ministers -: Telangana Ministers are people who help the Chief Minister run the government in Telangana.
