
Pushkar Singh Dhami hails Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh for defeating world number one in World Team Blitz Championships
Taking to X, Pushkar Singh Dhami posted, 'Hearty congratulations to Divya Deshmukh ji on defeating world number 1 player Hou Yifan in the semi-finals of the second stage of the World Team Blitz Championship held in London. This remarkable achievement of yours is an inspiration for chess players across the country. I have full faith that you will continue to make the country proud with your excellent performance in the future as well. Infinite best wishes for your bright future!'
https://x.com/pushkardhami/status/1935634215023858091
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Indian chess grandmaster Divya Deshmukh.
Taking to X, PM Modi posted, 'Congratulations to Divya Deshmukh on defeating the World No. 1, Hou Yifan in the 2nd leg of Blitz semifinal at the World Team Blitz Championships, London. Her success highlights her grit and determination. It also inspires many upcoming chess players. Best wishes for her future endeavours.
https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1935609992507191500
Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also posted, 'Checkmate ! Heartiest congratulations to our chess star Divya Deshmukh on her stunning win over World No. 1 Hou Yifan in the 2nd leg of the Blitz semifinal at the World Team Blitz Championships in London. Wishing you the very best for the future games.'
https://x.com/mansukhmandviya/status/1935240571893002316
Notably, India has been doing really well at the international level in chess as of late.
D. Gukesh, the reigning World Champion and recipient of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award secured a third-place position in the Norway Chess tournament, which concluded early in June. One of his standout moments during the competition was a win over world number one Magnus Carlsen, which was his first classical game win over him. Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi also finished fifth.
Also, Aravindh Chithambaram, clinched first place in the Stepan Avagyan Memorial Chess Tournament, and R Praggnanandhaa, secured second place in the same tournament. The tournament was held from May 28 to June 6. (ANI)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Deccan Herald
36 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Kujur, Sreeshankar, Annu shine
Star sprinter Animesh Kujur, veteran javelin thrower Annu Rani, and long jump ace Murali Sreeshankar lived up to expectations by winning their respective events at India's maiden World Athletics Continental Tour competition here on Sunday. The bronze level event went off smoothly but the quality of competitions did not rise to any great heights. There was drama in store for Kujur. The 22-year-old pulled up after a few paces in his men's 100m heat race in the morning. He then came out to run his 200m heat half an hour later and qualified for the final with a time of 20.99 seconds. In the evening, he ran 20.77 seconds in the 200m final to win the gold. Ko Seunghwan of Korea (20.95 seconds) and Indian Ragul Kumar (21.17 seconds) were second and third respectively. Kujur, representing Odisha, holds national records in both 100m (10.18 seconds) and 200m (20.32 seconds). Sreeshankar, representing JSW, was up against rising teenager Shahnavaz Khan, who won gold in the Uttarakhand National Games in February. The 17-year-old Khan was leading with his fourth round jump of 8.04m, while Sreeshankar was second with 7.95m. But the 26-year-old produced 8.13m in his final attempt to take the gold in dramatic fashion for his fourth title in a row since coming back from a long injury lay-off. He is, however, yet to breach the Tokyo World Championships direct entry mark of 8.27m. In women's javelin, Asian Games champion Annu Rani bagged the gold with a fourth round throw of 62.01m, thereby strengthening her chances of making it to the Tokyo World Championships in September. The men's javelin event disappointed the crowd at the Kalinga Stadium as the Indian participants barely crossed the 80m mark. India's 20-year-old Shivam Lohakare, the latest entrant in the 80m club at the Indian Open Athletics Meet in Pune last month with 80.95m, took the silver with 80.73m.


New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Frank chat between Ramesh and Pragg leads to transformation
CHENNAI: AROUND the time when D Gukesh was crowned as the world champion, RB Ramesh and R Praggnanadhaa had a very frank conversation. The interaction between teacher and student didn't focus on Gukesh's title but the spotlight was on the wider developments within Indian chess. "There were things we discussed at the end of last year," Ramesh told select media during the fifth round of the Chennai Grand Masters on Monday. "Does it have a negative impact on you? Because Gukesh, rating wise, he went up. Pragg was 2740 in January. In December also he was 2740. He had had some ups and downs. 'So do others' performances have an impact on you?' These were some of the issues we discussed." The irony wasn't lost on India's very wide chess community as well. In August 2023, Praggnanandhaa had qualified for the Candidates after advancing to the final of the World Cup. Four months later, Gukesh joined him in the 11th hour. Yet, it was Gukesh who topped the Candidates. Erigaisi, the oldest among the trio, meanwhile went on a rampage and saw his ratings jump by 60 points. Because Ramesh has worked with Praggnanandhaa for a long time, he knew he would get a frank response. "Otherwise, what's the point in having the conversation," Ramesh said. "If you want to hide things, I won't even be asking these questions. If my student is not going to be frank with me, I won't be working with them. And I'm not going to be honest with my students, they should not be working with me. There should be some trust between the trainer and the player." So the duo addressed the 19-year-old's mental state (something they have always spoken about).


India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Would have told Virat Kohli to retire after England Tests: Ex-India chief selector
Former India captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has said the national selectors should have persuaded Virat Kohli to delay his retirement from Test cricket until after the recent five-match series in announced his decision to retire from Test cricket just days before the start of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, shortly after Rohit Sharma also retired from Tests. Their absence left India with a fresh leadership group under Shubman Gill, who impressed both as captain and batsman, steering the side to a 2-2 who served as chief selector from 2006 to 2008, said Kohli's experience could have been crucial in the series. "If I were the Indian chief selector, I would have persuaded Virat to bid goodbye to Test cricket after playing the England series. We needed his class and experience in this series," Vengsarkar told The Times of India. Kohli's record in England has been mixed. After a disappointing debut tour in 2014, he returned in 2018 to score 655 runs as captain. However, he struggled during the 2021-22 visit, which included the World Test Championship final. In total, he has scored 1,096 runs in 17 Tests in England at an average of a month after his shock announcement, Kohli finally spoke about his decision to retire from Test cricket during a charity event for former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh's foundation, YouWeCan. Explaining his choice, he said: "I just coloured my beard two days ago. You know it's time when you are colouring your beard every four days."Neither Kohli nor Rohit has played competitive cricket since the IPL 2025 season. With India not scheduled to play ODI cricket until the end of the year in Australia and South Africa, their extended absence has added to speculation about their international retired with 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, placing him fourth on India's all-time list behind Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar. As captain, he led in 68 Tests, winning 40 - the most by any Indian skipper and the fourth-best in is expected to return to action in a three-match ODI series against Australia in October, followed by a home series against South Africa.- EndsYou May Also Like