India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18.
Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title.
“It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand.
India’s Gukesh Dommaraju holds his World Chess Championship trophy as he is greeted with a garland during a news conference in Chennai, India, yesterday. Photo: AFP
“I can see the support and what it means to India, I am glad to be here,” he added, as celebratory petals thrown into the air smothered his hair.
Gukesh downed China’s Ding Liren in a dramatic endgame in Singapore last week — becoming a sudden superstar in a nation where sporting fans are usually only obsessed with cricket.
The scenes in the south Indian city of Chennai were reminiscent — albeit on a smaller scale — of this year’s triumphant homecoming of the country’s cricket stars with the T20 World Cup trophy.
Young fans, mainly from Gukesh’s school, held placards and photos of their new hero — whose victory has given a boost to dreams of pursuing chess as a professional sport.
When he won in Singapore — after about three weeks and 14 games of intense battle against the 32-year-old Ding — Gukesh burst into tears.
Gukesh, who is usually reserved and more used to quiet and cerebral tournaments than wild celebrations, looked almost overwhelmed by the rock star welcome yesterday.
“You guys are amazing,” he told fans, before he was swiftly ushered into a car smothered in posters of him, alongside his father.
“You gave me so much energy,” he said.
Gukesh’s father, a doctor, has been by his son’s side in a roller-coaster ride that took off when he became India’s youngest grandmaster aged 12 years, seven months and 17 days — among the youngest in the history of the game.
In April, he became the youngest-ever winner of the prestigious Candidates Tournament, clinching his entry into the world championship.
Gukesh surpassed a record held by Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at age 22, after Ding, 32, faltered at the final hurdle of his title defense.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to