Why massive strides made in chess, javelin, and others call for celebration

While all the attention was on R Praggnanandhaa playing Magnus Carlsen in the final of the chess World Cup last week, it was another 17-year-old who became India’s top ranked player.

D Gukesh, also from Chennai as several top chess players tend to be, entered the top-10 rankings of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Gukesh, with a rating of 2758 is eighth in the world (Carlsen is No. 1 with 2839) ahead of Viswanathan Anand at No. 9 (2754). Praggnanandhaa is 19th with 2727 with two other Indians, Vidit Gujrathi (No. 27, 2716) and Arjun Erigaisi (No. 29, 2712) in the top 30. P Harikrishna (No. 31, 2711) and Nihal Sarin (No. 43, 2694) join in the top-50. Anand’s reign as India’s top-rated chess player lasted 37 years, barring a brief interlude, making this a significant moment for Indian chess.

Dommaraju Gukesh

“It’s partially a relief,” Anand told Champions Chess Tour on no longer being India’s top-ranked chess player. “How long do you want to be waiting for this to happen. That’s the thing about being semi-retired (he is playing fewer events now) — you are much more detached personally. But it’s still a shock to realise that something you expected to happen eventually and you never define ‘eventually’ in your mind… When it finally happens, you feel funny in your own skin.”

The number of Indians on the FIDE rankings list is an indication of the progress chess has made as a sport. When Anand started emerging as a player of repute in the 1980s, the sport was dominated by Russians. There was little or no infrastructure or legacy in India, leaving Anand to forge his own path. He moved to Europe, Spain in particular, so he could play tournaments regularly. When he became a grandmaster (GM) in 1988, he was the only one from the country.

India today has over 80 GMs. Many of them found their inspiration into the sport because of Anand and their way into its expertise through the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy.

“Getting past Vishy sir’s current rating for me, it’s surely a very special achievement,” Gukesh told the Sportstar. “ Obviously, I am not even close to achieving what all he has achieved throughout his career… But I am happy to become India No. 1. It was never in doubt, for me, in the past few months.”

Adding to the rapid strides chess has made in India, a slightly similar phenomenon seems to be underway in javelin, led by Neeraj Chopra.

The 25-year-old became the first Indian gold medallist in the World Athletics Championships with a distance of 88.17m in the javelin throw last Sunday in Budapest. Just four days later, he finished second in the Diamond League in Zurich with 85.71 — the only time he has finished anything but first this year, a consequence of back-to-back competitions, travel and the fact that he has already qualified for the finals (to be held in Eugene, Oregon, on September 16-17).

“There was some fatigue. I did struggle for rhythm and to warm-up. I didn’t push myself all the way, though I was focussed on doing well,” he told a media gathering on Friday over a video call. “The main is the final and I fortunately have enough points for the final.”

But what was unusual in the World Athletics Championships was the presence of two other Indians in the final eight of the competition. Kishore Jena finished fifth with a personal best of 84.77 m while DP Manu ended sixth with 84.14m.

(From left) Javelin throwers Kishore Jena, Neeraj Chopra, DP Manu.

The 27-year-old Jena’s progress this year has been fairly remarkable, starting with a 78.93m in the India Open in Bellary in March. Eight of his top 10 throws have come this year. But importantly, he has made a significant progression from last year, when his best was 78.05m to this year’s 84.77m.

The 23-year-old Manu has a personal best of 84.35m set last year. He came close to it at the Indian Grand Prix in April this year. His breakthrough year was 2022, when he improved upon his best of 76.30m (set in 2021) to an 84.35m.

If Jena and Manu are able to join Chopra consistently in the finals of tournaments, javelin could trigger the kind of supply chain of sportspeople that chess, badminton and wrestling have been able to. Chopra’s scoresheet in 2023 is three top spots, Diamond League in Doha in May followed by Diamond Discipline in Lausanne in June before Budapest. He is the number one ranked athlete in javelin — Manu is ninth and Jena is eleventh.

Chopra still has the Diamond League final in Eugene followed by the Asian Games in Hangzhou (the Games begin 23 September). “There is less time and more travel. I have to go to the US, come back, and then there is also the time difference. My aim is to finish the season without injuries,” he said.

HS Prannoy. (Photo: Olympics.com)

The success in chess, men’s javelin and in 31-year-old HS Prannoy’s bronze medal in the badminton World Championships — which pushed him to a career high of No. 6 in rankings — shows the strides sports other than cricket have made in the country. “We have been insanely critical of sport,” said Prannoy’s coach Pullela Gopi Chand at a Sportstar Conclave earlier this week. “To be the best 150, 200 in the world should be celebrated and we should celebrate ourselves a lot more.”