Asian Games 2023: India settles for silver in men and women’s chess team events

Two medals came in quick succession for India as men’s and women’s chess teams secured silver medals at the ongoing Asian Games 2023. This will be the nation’s final two medals at the multisports event at Hangzhou.

The Indian men’s contingent comprised of Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi, and Pentala Harikrishna secured silver by winning their games in a dominating fashion to beat South Korea 4-0 in the final round to finish with 15 match points.

The top-seeded Chinese team won its match against the UAE with a 4-0 margin to claim the gold with 17/18.

Silver in women’s chess team events

The Indian women’s contingent comprising Vantika Agrawal, Savitha Shri Baskar, Harika Dronavalli, Koneru Humpy, and Vaishali Ramesh Babu secured silver. China clinched the gold medal and Kazakhstan had to settle for bronze in the women’s team chess competition at the 19th Asian Games.

Iran India, and Uzbekistan won the gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s team chess events. Top seeds Arjun Erigaisi, D Gukesh, Vidit Gujrathi, and Harikrishna Pentala all won their matches against their counterparts while R Praggnanandhaa drew his game to finish second behind gold winners Iran.

Union Minister for I&B and Youth Affairs & Sports, Anurag Thakur shared congratulatory posts on microblogging platform, X “𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐆𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐀 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 Congratulations to @DGukesh @viditchess @rpragchess @ArjunErigaisi and @HariChess on winning silver in the Men’s Chess Team event. Your exceptional acumen and strategic brilliance on the chessboard have raised our nation’s sporting prowess to new heights. With this feat, 🇮🇳 stands tall and proud at #AsianGames2022 with 107 medals!! Proud of you, Champions!”