From traditional disciplines like athletics and wrestling to emerging sports that are gaining traction, the 2024 list reflects the diverse and dynamic nature of India’s sporting culture. The last Dronacharya Award that was conferred in chess was back in 2007 to Koneru Ashok. Almost 16.5 years later, GM FST R B Ramesh received the coveted award in chess. IM Bhakti Kulkarni and GM R Praggnanandhaa are the Arjuna Award 2022 recipients in Chess. Vaishali and Ramesh both received cash prize, a statuette of Arjuna and Dronacharya respectively, and a certificate each. “I have very fond memories of my school which not only provided me with free education but also were very lenient when it came to attendance”.

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ChessBase India is proud to be the official partner of chessbase.com reporting on events in India. Meanwhile, Vaishali who recently became the third female Grand Master from India is also amongst the list. RB Ramesh who has been the coach of siblings Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali is in the reckoning for the Dhronacharya award.

However, the badminton duo gave the award ceremony a miss as they are competing in the Malaysia Open, a BWF Super 1000 tournament in Kuala Lumpur. Deepa Malik became the first Indian woman para-athlete and the oldest to be conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Decades ago, Singh had started boxing seeing one of the students from Fiji studying in the college and the three-star AIBA coach remembered his early days as he bowed to the building gate. While Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, a total of 25 athletes including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, athletes Eldhose Paul, Avinash Sable have been nominated for the Arjuna Award this year. Established in 1985, this esteemed award represents commitment, self-control, and the quest for sporting greatness. The National Sports Awards for 2024, which honours exceptional accomplishments across a range of categories, have been formally announced by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sport.

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• The National Sports Awards for 2024, which honours exceptional accomplishments across a range of categories, have been formally announced by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sport.

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• A total of 18 athletes have been nominated for the Arjuna Awards.
• « Now both in top 20 in the world. What an exciting journey this has been! Gone through so much together. Happy to see them where they are. Hoping to see few of the other students join these two in the top 20 soon, » Ramesh posted.
• R.B. Ramesh, a chess Grandmaster and now an acclaimed coach, has been conferred with the prestigious Dronacharya Award 2023 by the Indian government.

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• Ramesh, widely credited for shaping the career of many champion chess players, runs the Chess Gurukul Academy in Chennai.

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• “My teachers were so cooperative that they held special classes for me during the board exams”.

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A committee of experts evaluates nominations based on the performances of the athletes trained by these coaches and their contributions to the sports industry. Only the most worthy applicants are awarded when the government finalises the list of awards after carefully reviewing the recommendations. One of India’s greatest accolades for achievement in sports coaching is the Dronacharya Award, which celebrates coaches who have been instrumental in developing and influencing players’ careers. Arjuna award is the second-highest sporting honour in the country. But on the other hand, he was competing against these top-rated guys almost on a monthly basis, even though it’s a rapid online format. To prepare to compete at this level, we had to raise our game many notches, so we felt this was a very good opportunity…

When I asked her how she got into playing chess, Vaishali quipped, ‘’I got into chess by chance. As a kid, I used to be glued to the television during my free time. The nominations for National Sports Awards 2023 is out and several stars have been nominated for Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards. Apart from the current athletes, few coaches are in contention for the Dhronacharya award and the winners for the same will be announced in the coming days.

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Chess Olympiad: Pragg and Vaishali, the golden siblings of Indian chess

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Plans are afoot to expand the programme in Romania, bringing in new sponsors and more students. This aside description from his Indian trainees, two of whom are headed to next year’s Candidates tournament. He travels to Romania every other month for a week and also visits his Offerspill students. A total of 26 sports personalities received the Arjuna Awards, the second-highest sporting honour in India, honouring their sporting prowess, leadership, and discipline over the last four years. Receiving a huge round of applause was the newly-crowned chess Grandmaster Vaishali, honoured for becoming the third woman from the country after Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika to turn GM. While the Khel Ratna comes with a cash prize of ₹25 lakh, the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards include a cash prize of ₹15 lakh.