Two golds, one swagger, and a celebration that blurred the lines between the chessboard and the cricket field
August in India has always been a month of reflection - a time when the nation looks back at its great battles, both on and off the field. In 2024, amid the nostalgia of Independence Month, another chapter was etched into our sporting history.
It didn't come from a cricket stadium roaring under floodlights, but from the hushed concentration of chess halls in Budapest. Here, India's men's and women's chess teams achieved the unthinkable: a double gold at the Chess Olympiad, a feat never before accomplished by the country.
Credit: Decan Herald
When the final round concluded on September 22, the tricolour flew high, and celebrations commenced. But this was no ordinary podium moment - it carried a swagger.
Credit: TOI
D Gukesh and Tania Sachdev stepped from either side of the stage, shoulders swaying, embodying the slow, deliberate trophy walk popularised by Lionel Messi in 2022 and, earlier that year, immortalised in cricket by Rohit Sharma after India’s unbeaten run to the T20 World Cup 2024 title. For a cricket-obsessed nation, the comparison was unavoidable - the quiet sport of chess had adopted cricket's style and made it its own.
At just 18, D Gukesh was already rewriting records. In Budapest, he led the men's team from the front, remaining unbeaten in 10 matches on the top board, with an astonishing nine wins and a single draw.
Credit: Sporting News
His dominance was matched by Arjun Erigaisi on Board 3, who recorded 10 wins in 11 matches. Together, they helped India amass 21 out of a possible 22 match points, sealing the country's first-ever men's Olympiad title.
The women’s team followed suit with a match that was as tense as it was triumphant. Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Tania Sachdev, and coach Abhijit Kunte formed the golden unit.
Credit: The Bridge
In the final round, they defeated Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 — wins for Harika, Divya, and Vantika, plus a draw from Vaishali. But their fate still hung in the balance, depending on whether the USA could deny Kazakhstan a win. When the Americans forced a 2-2 draw, the gold was India’s, and the double was complete.
Two gold medals in a single Olympiad are more than just a statistic — it’s a seismic moment in Indian sport.
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Chess, often sidelined in the shadow of cricket, has not only claimed the world stage but done so in a way that captures the nation’s imagination. For a generation raised on cover drives and yorkers, here was proof that a calm mind could thrill just as much as a swinging bat.
That slow, confident “Rohit Sharma walk” from Budapest has since taken on a life of its own — a celebration that transcended football, cricket, and chess, uniting three distinct sporting worlds.
It was swagger without arrogance, a victory lap for both mind and body. And in August, the month when India frequently revisits stories of grit and triumph, it stood as a reminder that sporting glory appears in many forms.
