Picture Credit: X
On Sunday, September 22, the Indian chess team, consisting of men and women both, etched history as they lifted their first-ever Chess Olympiad title. The Indian men’s team, consisting of Arjun Erigaisi, Dommaraju Gukesh, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi defeated Slovenia in the 11th and final round, whereas the women’s team, consisting of Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Praggnanandhaa, and Tania Sachdev, beat Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 to clinch their respective titles.
After the historic victory at the SYMA Sports and Conference Center in Budapest, Hungary, both teams celebrated with the Indian tri-colour. As the posed with the Indian flag during the ceremony, the moment all the more became special as D Gukesh and Tania Sachdev emulated Rohit Sharma and football great, Lionel Messi’s iconic slow-walk celebration.
D Gukesh and Tania Sachdev recreate Rohit Sharma’s iconic walk from India’s T20 World Cup 2024 triumph
With all the members posing for a picture as they waited for the trophy, two stars of the Indian chess teams, Gukesh and Tania emerged from either side and imitated Rohit Sharma and Argentinian great, Lionel Messi’s iconic slow-walk celebration. Former Team India T20I captain, Rohit Sharma celebrated in a similar manner after India ended their ICC trophy draught, beating South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 final in West Indies.
Meanwhile, star footballer, Lionel Messi created this celebration after Argentina’s FIFA World Cup triumph in 2022 when they defeated France 4-2 on penalties at the Lusail Stadium in Al Daayen.
Watch Indian men and women’s team’s iconic celebration after historic gold at Chess Olympiad 2024:
Viswanathan Anand heaps praise on India’s historic win at Chess Olympiad 2024
Often reckoned as the “father of chess in India”, legend, Viswanathan Anand congratulated the history-making Indian team for claiming two gold medals in both men’s and women’s category at the Chess Olympiad 2024 in Budapest. Taking to his official X account, Vishy Anand also hailed Vantika Agarwal and Divya Deshmukh for their brilliant performance in the final round.
“Congrats to Team India for winning the last round as well! Sensational @DGukesh and @ArjunErigaisi, but also congrats to @viditchess on an impressive result. Great captaincy by @srinathchess,” he wrote while congratulating the men's team.
Meanwhile, while congratulating the women’s team, he wrote, "Congrats to India's Women's team. Great result by the whole team and captain @chessgmkunte. and a special mention to @DivyaDeshmukh05 and to @vantikachess for her performance.”
