Harika Dronavalli: From planning her 2-year-old’s birthday party to realising a long-held dream of Chess Olympiad gold

Harika has been distant from her girl for implicit 3 weeks, helping India triumph a historical double-gold successful Budapest – Open and Women’s lawsuit – astatine the Chess Olympiad. The 33-year-old veteran, who played the apical committee for the women’s team, said she wasn’t disquieted however Hanvika would header due to the fact that she got the champion imaginable care: her sister, mother, and grandma forming the enactment strategy backmost location successful Guntur.

The 33-year-old veteran, who played the apical committee for the women’s team, said she wasn’t disquieted however Hanvika would header due to the fact that she got the champion imaginable care: her sister, mother, and grandma forming the enactment strategy backmost location successful Guntur. (Express Photo by Anil Sharma)

“I was ne'er disquieted erstwhile I was distant from her, due to the fact that I cognize she was successful overmuch safer hands than me. No 1 tin instrumentality attraction of her amended than my parents, grandmom and sister. They volition instrumentality other attraction due to the fact that they cognize I americium not there. There person been times erstwhile I haven’t spoken to her for weeks due to the fact that you tin get affectional talking to your daughter. It is difficult,” Harika said.

When Harika bushed Azerbaijan’s Gunay Mammadzada successful the last circular for a important win, she clasped her look successful her hands and cried. Those were tears of alleviation and joyousness she says. Harika debuted astatine the Chess Olympiad successful 2004 and it took her 2 decades to beryllium portion of a gold-medal winning team. In 2022, erstwhile the women’s squad won bronze, she was expecting her kid and could not play a important crippled due to the fact that the doc had advised her against sitting for excessively long.

“I conjecture my hold for golden has been the longest among players I know. Over the years I ne'er understood wherefore this (chess Olympiad) is not being cracked. Last clip it was during my gestation and aft that I someway started doubting if this would hap (India winning gold). I americium an affectional idiosyncratic and aft I became a ma I person started openly showing emotion adjacent more,” Harika said.

She wasn’t expected to beryllium portion of the Olympiad squad this clip around. But manager and squad skipper Abhijit Kunte wanted either 1 of the veterans, Harika oregon Koneru Humpy to play. Humpy opted retired due to the fact that of ‘personal reasons’, Kunte said. “Harika asked maine to springiness her a time to deliberation astir it,” helium recalled.

Harika, however, was engaged readying Hanvika’s 2nd birthday. The household was acceptable to question to Bali and she wanted to program the full travel connected her own. “On August 9 I got backmost to India from different tourney and connected August 24 we had to beryllium successful Bali. I had to marque the household travel cleanable due to the fact that I americium a perfectionist. I didn’t get capable clip to hole for the Olympiad and I was feeling blameworthy astir it. But I americium blessed I held my crushed (at the Olympiad)”.

Other than her daughter’s birthday, Harika had different things connected her caput too. Her parent and grandma some had scheduled genu surgeries which had to beryllium enactment connected hold. Since the Chess Olympiad container has present been ticked Harika tin absorption connected the homefront again.

Catching them young

Hanvika has already been exposed to the crippled of chess, but Harika is not obsessed with her girl pursuing successful her footsteps.

“So we bash instrumentality up a chessboard. She knows pieces. She understands,” Harika said. But arsenic a two-year-old, you ne'er cognize whether she volition show her skills oregon not. As a mother, I’m trying to inculcate sports into her interests. But successful this generation, kids cognize what they privation aboriginal on. I can’t determine for her. I conscionable would emotion it if she could take immoderate sport, adjacent if it’s occurrence oregon failure. I deliberation athletics teaches a lot… taking setbacks oregon however to grip failures. It makes you much mature astatine a precise aboriginal property and disciplined. So I judge that it tin assistance a batch successful life.”

Now that she has tasted gold-medal winning success, Harika is inactive mulling astir her Olympiad future. The joyousness of triumph and the felicitations, including gathering Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is excessively caller successful her caput to marque a large determination immediately.

“I truly don’t know. I deliberation it’s excessively galore emotions close present going on. It’s conscionable a bully feeling to decorativeness successful a golden medal team. Maybe… I don’t cognize what volition hap successful the aboriginal aft 2 years, what volition beryllium the situation. But close present if you inquire maine my feelings, I’m like, okay. I deliberation enough… excessively overmuch stress. And possibly I tin ore connected my idiosyncratic crippled alternatively than playing each this (team events) This is my intelligence authorities close now. But I don’t privation to beryllium like, a 100 percent sure, and past travel backmost and play due to the fact that I truly don’t cognize what volition hap aft 2 years.”