44th Chess Olympiad torch reaches Tirupati

Tirupati: Building up tempo to the 44th chess Olympiad to be held at Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu from July 29 to August 9, the Chittoor District Olympic Association and SAAP jointly organised a colourful rally in the pilgrim city on Saturday. Peoples from various walks of life including sportspersons, students, political leaders and officials took part in the rally which took off at Srinivasam Sports Complex located near SV Arts College and culminated into a meeting at Mahati Auditorium.

Cultural and Youth Welfare Minister RK Roja, MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, Grand Master Akash, Principal Secretary Vani Mohan, TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy, Sports Academy of AP (SAAP) Managing Director Prabhakar Reddy, district Collector K Venkataramana Reddy and Municipal Commissioner Anupama Anjali participated in the meeting.

It may be noted here that the Olympiad torch rally flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 19 in New Delhi and is passing through 75 cities in different states and union territories and entered Tirupati on Saturday. This is the first time India is hosting Chess Olympiad. After covering 75 cities in the country, the torch will reach Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu where the prestigious Chess Olympiad will begin on July 29. As many as 187 countries will take part in the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Youth Welfare RK Roja said people of the nation were currently celebrating Azadi Ka Amruth Mahostav' – marking 75 years of independence and added that as part of this, the 44th Chess Olympiad is being organised in Mahabalipuram. She said it is a moment of pride for Tirupati when the Olympiad torch reached the pilgrim city. Hailing the talent of chess players from AP, she said Koneru Hampi, Musunuri Rohith Lalith Babu, Pentela Harikrishna, Dronavalli Harika, Karthik Venkatraman etc are the grandmasters from AP and they have enhanced the image of the State at national and international level by bagging many awards and trophies.

Later, the attendees handed over the relay torch to Medalin organization representatives to take it to Pondicherry. Earlier, a performance of classical dance by the students of Nataraja Natyalaya enthralled the audience.