Meetings With PM Modi Have Always Been Warm, Grateful For His Support: World Champion Gukesh

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS) World Chess Champion Gukesh Dommaraju on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his support to him and said his meetings with the PM have been really warm.

The 18-year-old Gukesh, who became the youngest-ever World Champion in the history of the Sport by beating China's Ding Liren in the World Championship Match in Singapore in December 2024 with a dramatic last-game victory following a blunder by his opponent, said his chats with the PM Modi have been nice.

"Yeah, we had great conversations and PM Modi was very warm. Both times (when I met him), after the olympiad and after the World Championship, he was really warm, and (I am) grateful for all the support," Gukesh told IANS on the sidelines of the felicitation function organised by the All-India Chess Federation (AICF) in the capital on Thursday.

Gukesh was felicitated along with Women's World Rapid Champion Koneru Humpy, who won the title in the final days of 2024 in the United States. Humpy won the World Rapid Chess Championship for the second time in New York last month, capturing the title again following her first triumph in 2019, by finishing ahead of Ju Wenjun of China. She had won the silver medal in the 2023 edition.

Gukesh said he wants to continue improving himself and do better each time he takes to the board for a match. "Yeah, I just want to improve myself and do better each time I play," he said.

Gukesh said he is aware that everyone will be gunning for him as the World Champion and therefore wants to rise to the challenge.

"I'm being targeted and I'll just try to improve myself and rise to the challenge. The focus has always been to improve myself as a player and as a person and I'm really grateful for all the results that that have gotten," said Gukesh.

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