FIDE Candidates winner D Gukesh meets Sports Minister Anurag Thakur
NEW DELHI: Indian chess star D Gukesh, who won the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Candidates title in April, met Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at his residence on Thursday. The 17-year-old Indian in April created history as he won the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2024, becoming the youngest-ever challenger to the world title held by Ding Liren after an exciting final round in Toronto. Gukesh was felicitated with a traditional Himachali cap, shawl and a memento by the minister. Both Gukesh and the minister talked about the game, and the experience during the tournament. The Union Minister wished him luck in future competitions. In Round 14 of the FIDE Candidates, Gukesh used black pieces to hold rival championship contender Hikaru Nakamura to a draw and secure his victory. Earlier, speaking to ANI, Gukesh said he is now aiming to shine at the World Championships. My next goal is to make it big at the World Championship. I am just planning to do my absolute best and try to do the right things. And be in the ideal shape required to play good chess. And I hope things will go my way, Gukesh said. Gukesh expressed that he wanted to challenge the current champion Ding Liren, saying it has always been his aim to win the crown. I haven't thought about the preparations yet; I did not get much time to. I will soon start thinking about the match. I try to do as well as I can and give my absolute best everywhere possible. I am eager to start preparing for the final. Going there and giving my best, he added. Gukesh became only the second Indian player to win the Candidates Tournament, after Viswanathan Anand. Five-time world champion Anand's victory came in 2014.
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CHENNAI: Hours after a coach was allegedly hit with a heavy piece of wood (a kitchen utensil used to prepare badam ragda, a protein shake) while he was asleep in his room along with his son at the iconic Chhatrasal Stadium, the Delhi government has asked the trainee wrestlers to vacate the hostel on Wednesday. Wrestlers use the said piece of wood or pestle to crush and grind almonds to prepare the energy drink for them. Sources told this daily that a disgruntled trainee wrestler against whom the coach had lodged a protest attacked the latter on Tuesday night. All the trainee wrestlers have been asked to leave the hostel with immediate effect, a source in the know of the development told this daily. However, three wrestlers, who are scheduled to compete in the World Olympic Games Qualifier later this month, have been allowed to stay at their respective rooms and continue their preparations for the last qualifying event. The three wrestlers are Aman Sehrawat (57kg), Deepak Punia (86kg) and Sumit Malik (125kg). The coach received 40 stitches as he sustained severe injuries in his head. He also sustained facial injuries, added the source. But it could not be ascertained whether an FIR was registered against the accused. Notably, in 2021, the two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar was arrested for allegedly being involved in the death of a wrestler at the stadium. He is currently lodged in the jail.
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CHENNAI: The first Indian athletics had a sedate start to the season. Most of the top athletes were either missing or training abroad. Understandably, the first Indian Grand Prix did not create as much buzz except for in the horizontal jumps -- both men and women. The focus was on young Shaili Singh, the former Under-20 World silver medallist from Uttar Pradesh who would begin her season with an eye on qualifying for the Olympics. Though her coach Robert Bobby George was expecting her jump around 6.72m Shaili had a promising start. Her first jump was 6.52m and there was some excitement in her camp. However, she could not capitalise on the starts. Her next best jump was 6.50 and the last was 6.40m. The rhythm, however, is back. Shaili, who trains at the Anju Bobby Georges jump academy in Bengaluru under Robert, is also gearing up for a training and exposure trip to Europe next month. According to her coach, they would be hoping to compete at a few Continental Tour events in Athens, Chorzow in Poland, Marseille and Leverkusen. Right now she is at 42 on the Road to Paris ranking and she needs to climb at least 10 places to make it through ranking. The entry standard in the Paris Olympics is 6.86m. Anjus national record stands at 8.63m. Three good 6.72m and above jumps would help her climb those ranks. Her personal best is 6.76m last year. National record holder in triple jump Praveen Chithravel too had a mediocre start to the season when he cleared 17.12m in his fourth attempt. Focus was on Hima Das as well, who made a comeback after more than a year. Though she competed in the 200m, she failed to finish the race after withdrawing more than halfway into the race.
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With changed perspective and psychologist by her side, wrestler Anshu Malik eyes Olympic medal
CHENNAI: Year 2023 turned out to be the worst phase in the life of Indian woman wrestler Anshu Malik. The 2021 World Championships silver medallist not only suffered big setbacks on the wrestling mat but also encountered a personal trauma which turned her world upside down. A fake vulgar video started doing the rounds soon after Anshu lost a bout during the selection trials held to pick up the Indian team for the Asian Games last year. Such was the impact of it that the Haryana grappler even contemplated quitting the sport. The year 2023 can be said to be the worst phase in my life as I faced a lot of adversities during that period, Anshu, who is managed by IOS Sports and Entertainment, told this daily. She lost faith in everything including the Almighty. At one point of time, I even thought about quitting wrestling. I lost faith in everything including God. But my family and a few people, who hold a special place in my life, stood by me like a rock and motivated me to deal with the situation and keep striving hard. They gave me strength and then I thought my story cannot end like this. I have to leave these obstacles behind. I might have failed to make it to the Asian Games but I can still earn a quota for the Paris Olympics. So I decided to continue preparing for the qualifiers, added Anshu, who also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It was not easy as Anshu not only had to deal with off the mat issues but also the injuries which have forced her to skip important international events one after the other. She could feature only in the Senior Asian Championships in 2023 where she bagged bronze. But the goal was pretty clear and a plan was chalked out to achieve it. She missed the 2023 World Championships thus a chance to secure the Paris Games quota by finishing on the podium. Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan was scheduled to hold the next qualifying event, the Asian Olympic Games Qualifier, and Anshu made sure she was more than ready for the battle. She came out with all guns blazing as the wrestler registered emphatic wins in the qualifier to reach the final and secure an Olympic quota in the 57kg weight category on April 20. As per the criteria, finalists of the event were eligible for Olympic quotas in their respective weight categories. Looking back, Anshu remembers the role played by her family to keep her focussed. She also thanked the psychologist, who gave her a different perspective of life when things were falling apart and nothing was going in her favour. Before that difficult phase, Anshu, like the majority of athletes in the country, was indifferent to the role of sports psychologist. Earlier, I used to presume that I do not need a psychologist. Honestly, I was not ready to accept that I need a psychologist. Before 2023 I was in touch with the psychologist but the importance of it I realised when I faced those difficulties. There are a few things which you cannot discuss with your family, near and dear ones. But it can be discussed with the psychologist. Once I let out those things, I started understanding life in a better way. I understand that with fame comes criticism and you have to deal with it. You cannot control people and what they say and think about you. Now, what people say and think about doesn't matter to me. It doesn't bother me. Now I have a regular counselling sessions and this has helped in a great way. Olympic qualification is the start as the 23-year-old wrestler from Nidani knows the challenges which lie ahead. She was a medal prospect in the Tokyo Games but the dream to finish on the podium in the sporting extravaganza came crashing down as she managed ninth position. Anshu, however, is confident that this time she is a different person altogether - more mature and geared up for all the challenges. A lot has changed since the last Olympics. The maturity level has gone up. I have ironed out the technical flaws that cut short my run in Tokyo. I have worked on my strength. Mentally I have become tougher. I know I can overcome any challenge now. So this time it will be different, Anshu hoped. It's going to be a tough field in the 57kg and Anshu knows it. The top four 5 including numero uno Tsugumi Sakurai from Japan, Nigerian Odunayo Folasade Adekuoroye, Anastasia Nichita from Moldova and Helen Maroulis of the USA apart from others, who had qualified for the Games can pose a big challenge. The Nigerian, in fact, was the one who defeated Anshu in the 57kg final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Except for the Japanese wrestler, I have had close bouts with these top 5 wrestlers. Those bouts were not lopsided affairs. I knew where I committed mistakes and did my best to rectify them. I am hopeful I will be better prepared this time. Injuries also hampered Anshu's progress as soon after the CWG she underwent an elbow surgery. She then sustained an injury in the left knee during the selection trials for the Asian Championships last year but decided to undergo rehabilitation instead of a surgery on the advice from her treating doctors. The knee injury was the reason for her missing the 2023 Worlds. I feel I am closer to full fitness. During rehabilitation, we worked on my mental toughness and other aspects of the game. We also came up with a plan on how to go forward. Anshu will now head to Japan for 40-45 days training camp next week in her bid to prepare for the Games. She will train at the Nippon Sports Science University where she will get world-class sparring partners in Akari Fujinami, 53kg world champion, Miwa Morikawa, the dominating wrestler in 65kg and Kaori Icho, the champion wrestler who won four straight Olympic gold from 2004 to 2016 apart from 10 Worlds gold medals. Icho is a coach with the university at the moment. I will come back to India for the proposed bouts between the Olympic quota winners and challengers if the selection trials happen. Anshu was unstoppable during the qualifier and she hopes to be the same wrestler when the competition begins in Paris as the year gone by had made her more determined to become India's only second woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal after Sakshi Malik.
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