Independence Day Special - When the tricolour was unfurled
There are several great chess players of our country who have given their heart, sweat and blood to bring laurels for the country. Hours of hardwork inside the study room, trying to keep yourself tactically alert, solving those thousands of positional exercises, understanding those complex rook endgames - all of this seems like a huge grind! But when you win a tournament and at the closing ceremony the Indian flag is unfurled and the national anthem is played, it feels as if the entire struggle was worth its weight in gold! On the 74th Independence Day of our country, we ask the top players of our nation as to how it felt when the tricolour was unfurled in front of them! Check out these memorable moments of the absolute Indian chess greats.
15th of August is celebrated as the Independence Day of India. Today is India's 74th Independence Day. It was on this day in 1947 that India achieved its freedom from the British rule. It was freedom from years of suppression. On 15 August 1947, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi. On each subsequent Independence Day, the incumbent Prime Minister customarily raises the flag and gives an address to the nation.
The Indian flag has a lot of significance for every sports player of the country. Seeing the Indian tricolour at the end of a successful tournament fills your heart with pride. On this Independence Day we decided to ask some of the best Indian chess players about their most precious memory with the Indian flag or the national anthem. The moment which they would never ever be able to forget! The moment when they made the country proud.
Vishy Anand, India no.1
Before every World Championship, the anthem of FIDE, the Indian national anthem and my rival's national anthem would be played. At that moment you look back on the months of work, personal sacrifices, your team that has worked so hard. You know that at the end of the championship one flag will be placed, one anthem will be played for the World Champion and you pray and hope that it will be Jana Gana Mana. It's a very emotional moment for me personally.
Koneru Humpy, India no.1
My most memorable one was Asian games, Doha 2006, after I won the first gold medal for India. They took a lot photos with the Indian flag and during the medal ceremony our national anthem was also played.
Vidit Gujrathi, India no.3
The moment which vividly comes to my mind when I think about it is when I won my first World Championship title in the under-14 section. The world title was something I wanted to win since many years and it finally happened in 2008. I remember standing on the podium flanked by players of different countries. In the crowd there were my teammates and also players, coaches and parents from all across the world. And then the national anthem was played. I remember feeling goosebumps at that time and even now when I think of it, it feels extremely special.
B. Adhiban, India no.4
For me the most special times have been when we won the World Youth Olympiad 2007 at Singapore and when I won world U-16 at Vietnam 2008! Also in recent times when Vishy won in Riyadh and Humpy in Moscow, it was great to hear our national anthem played. I have sworn that one day I will make it happen again!
Tania Sachdev, India no.3
Playing for the country is an unmatched feeling. Every time I’ve played for India it feels as if I want to do more, train harder, give my all on the board, there’s something extra.. maybe it comes from my grandfather who retired a major general in the army heading the military intelligence and I grew up on his mesmerising army stories and a deep sense of patriotism It’s hard to pick one particular moment but what comes to mind was winning the Asian women in Tehran, on the podium they played the national anthem, the Indian flag came on ..and everyone stood up.. it was very special. A few years before that, I had won the Asian junior championship it was exactly this feeling.. and that was a time I was figuring if I wanted to take up chess professionally or focus on academics, I was really confused.. and then getting the medal with the tricolour around me I knew in that moment that this is what I wanted to do over everything else.
K. Sasikiran India no.5
There were many moments in my career when the Indian flag was unfurled at the closing ceremony. It is always a special feeling watching your flag rise to the top. These are some of the highlights: 2003 Asian Individual Champion, Doha (Gold), The Asian games Classical Gold medal (2006), 41st Olympiad in Tromso, we won the bronze (it was the first medal for us in the Olympiad), Abu Dhabi Asian Nations Chess Cup Classical Gold in 2016.
Bhakti Kulkarni, India no.5
The most memorable moment for me was when I won the Gold Medal at the Asian Continental in 2016 at Tashkent, Uzbekistan! It was a wonderful moment for me to win the Gold for our country and represent India at the World Women Chess Championship. Being a sports woman I feel proud to wear the Indian blazer! Thinking about that tournament gives me goosebumps, as in spite of being one of the lowest Indian players in the team, I could win the prestigious event!
S.P. Sethuraman, India no.6
Winning the historic bronze medal for Team India at the Olympiad 2014, Norway was truly a goosebumps moment for me. It was even more memorable because of the fact that we won it on August 14th, just one day prior to the Independence day .
Padmini Rout, India no.6
It's the best feeling in the world to see the Indian flag at the end of a grueling event and the national anthem played. I cannot remember if it was in one or more, but here are a few victories that are very close to my heart - World U-14 title, Asian Junior Champion 2009, Olympiad 2014 individual gold, Asian Continental 2018.
Surya Ganguly, India no.8
The most memorable events for me have been winning individual gold twice at the World Teams, Team Gold in World Teams 2010 and couple of Asian teams. Each time it was very special. When national anthem gets played it's a completely different feeling altogether. World teams, Asian teams, Asian Indoor Games, Asian Individuals - in these events I got medals (individual and team) and each one or them is very close to heart. Oh...and of course I must mention that each time Anand won the World championship match it was a very proud moment. I remember them very fondly.
P.V. Nandhidhaa, India no.8
This was my first World Youth chess championship at Vietnam 2008. We got team gold medal in U-12 category. It was a great moment to hold our National Flag.
Nihal Sarin, India no.9
It felt really nice to win the world under-10 championships in Durban in 2014.
Soumya Swaminathan, India no.9
It's hard to describe the feeling in words when I became the World Junior Champion in 2009 in Argentina. To be honest, during the closing ceremony of the World Junior Championships that I won, I was a little disappointed that the national anthem of either of the champions wasn't played, and our respective flags weren't hoisted. No complaints, everything else was great. Later, I mentioned this to my friends and so we all decided to take a picture with the Indian Flag. Now that I look back, I am grateful for this, as all my friends who supported me so much during the tournament - Magesh who was our coach helped me with my preparation everyday, and all the guys helped me prepare for the last round until 02:00 a.m the previous night, despite it being an individual tournament! I am glad we got to share this moment with each other and felt a common pride as friends, and as Indians! Of course, its means so much to play for India, to wear the national uniform for team tournaments with the India Logo, to pose with our flag. The only thing that can be better would be to stand on the podium and see your flag hoisted as a result of your contribution. I hope this will happen too! :) Happy Independence Day to all Indians, and my fellow chess players.
Narayanan S.L, India no.10
It was during the World Junior in Odisha in 2016 where I won the bronze medal for India. I got a sense of satisfaction. Especially because it was the very last round win which enabled me to win the bronze. I felt proud not only for myself but also for our country since the tournament was held in India and I was one who made it to the podium finish. At the time of prize giving function, I felt the sound of our national anthem inside me. I consider this moment very special.
Abhijeet Gupta, India no.11
There have been quite a few, but probably the most memorable one was when I won the world juniors on 15th August, that too by beating an Englishman David Howell.
Praggnanandhaa, India no.12
The one that comes to my mind immediately is the world under-18 title that I won in Mumbai in 2019.
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Meet the 75 Grandmasters of Indian chess on our 75th Independence Day
@ 15/08/2022 by Sagar Shah (en) |
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स्वतंत्रता दिवस खास -देश का पहला ओलंपियाड पदक
@ 15/08/2020 by Niklesh Jain (hi) |