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When it comes to brass tacks it is the righteous thought that matters. Little wonder that Chinese men and women did a little better than needful to claim the Gold medals in the Asian teams championships that ended in Jodhpur after a fantastic treat for the participants.
Just two rounds before Chinese supremacy was challenged by a beleaguered India 'B'. But they came up with commendable performance a 4-0 victory over Malaysia on the last day to make sure they didn't slip.
What seemed like a pretty close race right from the beginning turned out to be a near one sided affair at the end. The Chinese men finished a clear 1.5 points ahead of India 'A' that claimed the silver.
In all such events there usually is a surprise packet and this time around it turned out to be India 'C' that won the bronze ahead of many fancied teams. Seeded seventh before the start, India 'C's participation in the tournament was always in doubt as they could be roped in only in case of odd number of entries. However, with some teams arriving late, they finally got the chance. It eventually became an odd entry event and ....phew! A medal for the spirited guys! A Government award is another part of the package that will come a little late.
In the Women's section China had little trouble as just a drawn result was needed to get the crown. The Turkish ladies were definitely not interested in fighting it out.
Vietnam won the Silver here when they were aided well by India 'A's dismal performance in the last round. The Indian team that had a full point lead over Vietnam before the final match squandered away the silver after dropping points against Kazakhstan.
India got three out of nine individual golds, with Pravin Thipsay, Lanka Ravi and Dronavalli Harika winning the honours on their boards. Zhu Chen and Xu Yuhua won the gold on top two boards in eves section while Vietnamese Le Kiev Thein Kim won it on the third board.
In the men's, the top board prize was won by Dao Thein Hai while Zhang Pengxiang
and Bakhtiyar Askarov won on board 4 & 5 respectively.
It turned out to be a fine show altogether with the organizers doing a good
job and their players coming up with virtuoso performances. This one will be
followed by the Commonwealth Championship incorporating an open event at Mumbai
in a few days time. Stay online for more news from India!
Vijay Kumar/Vishal Sareen
Le Kim inside the Ummed Palace, residence of the royal family
All participants were treated to Royal hospitality in the Ummed Palace,
the home of erstwhile King of Jodhpur.
Did someone say that music makes a man happy? The chess players tuning in
to some Rajasthani music during the function.
Enlightened environment! A view of the Ummed Palace at night.
Veteran Indian grandmaster Praveen Thipsay giving his thoughts to Koneru
Humpy and her father
Malaysian Eves waiting for their turn
India A captain Sasikiran handing over the silver cup to team mate Surya
Shekhar Ganguly
The jubiliant Chinese men and women's team members with their championship
cups
The Maharani of Jodhpur giving away the first prize to the Chinese women's
team
The Rajputani guard
