For India, the week that went by brought some great shining moments. The biggest swell of pride was delivered by the soft-landing of Chandrayaan-3’s ‘Vikram’ lander on the far side of the Moon. It catapulted India to the high table in space achievements as the country became the first nation to touchdown on the South Pole of Moon. A few hours later, a new moon rose in the sports field when teenage prodigy R Praggnanandhaa finished runner-up in the FIDE Chess World Cup after a valiant fight to champion Magnus Carlsen. A day later, HS Prannoy found his moment of reckoning when he won his maiden BWF World Championship medal. The bronze had put the shuttler among the select band of Indian badminton players with a medal in the Worlds. The sporting glory achieved by the young Indians is the harbinger of a revolution which the sports fans were anxiously waiting for all these years. The fresh crop is set to take the Tricolour to newer heights. All they need is unconditional love and support. Best part of the fine run on Indian sportspersons in different disciplines is the people’s interest in their campaigns.

 

Even as the country was glued to the huge scientific achievement of ISRO, many were equally excited about Praggnanandhaa’s final with Carlsen. Chess making the prime time is a big change that must be welcomed by the society. It is a mark of a change in attitude towards sports which bodes really well for the next generation who can opt for their favourite sports as a career. As Carlsen himself has stated, India is only at the start of a chess revolution. From the days of Viswanathan Anand being the lone torch-bearer of the game of wits, India has now seen an explosion of Grandmasters in recent years. The country had just 20 GMs before 2010. The number has gone up to 82 in the last 13 years. The number speaks volumes about the growing popularity of chess among youngsters. India is definitely poised to dominate the game of 64 squares in the near future. Pragg has already shown what the Indian youngsters are capable of. There are many in the same club who can climb to great heights in their career.

 

D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, P Harikrishna, Raunak Sadhwani, Nihal Sarin and many youngsters are already making their mark in FIDE ratings. Similar revolution is taking place on the badminton courts with P Kashyap, Prannoy, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Laskhya Sen and others raising the bar. Not just singles, Indians are now stamping their authority in the doubles too. The women’s section also has young double’s pair of Tressa Jolly and Gayathri Gopichand taking big strides. The country must support the fresh crop without any reservations.