The Indian women's chess team made Olympic history by being the first team to ever take home a medal. The triumph at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai was particularly emotional for Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli, who competed while nine months pregnant.
After losing to the United States 1-3, the Indian A team, which included Harika Dronavalli, Tania Sachdev, Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali, and Bhakti Kulkarni, took home the bronze medal in the women's division. The latter two contests did not feature Harika.
Harika claimed that for the past few months, she had been waiting to witness India win its first-ever medal. It also required certain sacrifices.
“My every single step has been dedicated to make it possible," she wrote in in a Twitter post on August 10. "No baby showers, no parties, no celebrations, I decided everything will be only after winning the medal. "
"For the past few months, I have literally lived for this moment, and I succeeded. First-ever medal for the Indian Women's Chess Team at an Olympics, according to Harika.
The 18-year chess career of the grandmaster was considered by her. She claimed to have participated in nine Olympic games thus far.
"I always dreamt about being on the podium for Indian women’s team and finally made it this time," she added. I kept working every single day to make sure that I perform well."
The bronze medal win, according to women's team coach Abhijit Kunte, could bring about brighter times for women's chess in India.
The FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022 saw nine medals won by Indian chess players overall.
