India has struck historic double gold medals in the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary. Both men and women teams emerged on top.
In the open section, India’s maiden title win was secured following Arjun Erigaisi’s victory over Jan Subelj of Slovenia in the final round of the competition. At the same time, second-placed China dropped crucial points against the USA in their fixture, and India officially clinched the title. The Indian team for the open category included Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna, and Srinath Narayanan. In the open section, India’s best performances prior to this year have been the bronze medals in 2022 and 2014.
In addition, in the women’s section final, the Indian women’s team defeated Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 to clinch the gold. The team comprised Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Tania Sachdev, and Abhijit Kunte (captain).