New Delhi [India], August 22 : Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has hailed the performance of Indian grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa who stormed into the final of the FIDE Chess World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan and also compared him with five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand.
The Indian chess prodigy managed to beat the American player 3.5-2.5 after tiebreaks. He will face World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen for the title clash.
"If you look at the last few months then I would say that this is the best time for Indian sports. India is doing well in one sport after another. We were No. 1 team in wrestling in Under 20 World Cup. In archery world championship also we were number one, we won men's Asian Champions Trophy and we were champion in women's and men's junior number one. India's performance is great in one sport or the other," said Thakur told reporters.
"In chess we were waiting on who will be the next after Viswanathan Anand then our young boy Praggnanandhaa is going to play finals and the entire nation is hoping for him to do well. All the expectations are on him. My best wishes that he does well, performs and makes country proud," Thakur said.
Praggnanandhaa defeated World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana to reach the final of the FIDE World Cup, and his mother was also present at the event to witness her son's triumph.
Earlier, Praggnanandhaa beat compatriot Arjun Erigaisi 5-4 in a sudden death tie-break to book a place for himself in the semifinals on Thursday. The 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa has already secured a spot in next year's Candidates event.
Praggnanandhaa created history by advancing to the final of the FIDE World Cup, his coach RB Ramesh also expressed his immense pride in Praggnanandhaa's exceptional performance in the global tournament and said that he is optimistic about Prags chances in view of the openings strategies discussed.
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