After tremendous action that lasted for about 13 days in Samarkand, the final result has finally come out. India won the silver medal in the open event of the Olympiad. The Indian team of current world champion D Gukesh, R Praggnanand, Arjun Erigesi, Vidit Gujarati and Nihal Sarin could not dislodge host Uzbekistan from the first position despite their best efforts.
After completion of all 11 rounds of competitions in the Olympiad, Uzbekistan won the gold medal in the open event with maximum 20 points. The Indian team stood second with 18 points. India played a draw against Hungary in the last round, due to which the team could not reach the gold medal. Germany won the bronze medal.
In the women’s event, the Indian team won the bronze medal. The Indian team included Vantika Agarwal, Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh and Savita Sri. The Indian team had won the gold medal last time. But this time she stood third with 17 points and had to be satisfied with bronze. In its last round, India played a draw with Georgia. China won the gold medal of this event, while Kazakhstan won the silver medal.
However, apart from the gold medal in this Olympiad, the most prestigious Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy went to India. This is because India performed best in open and women’s events combined. It was only India who finished on the podium in both the events. Apart from this, India’s Divya Deshmukh also received the award for the best female player in these Olympiads.