Singapore: On the day of his greatest triumph, Gukesh Dommaraju, the youngest World Chess Champion, thanked his parents Dr Rajnikanth and Dr Padma for the sacrifices they made to help him in his journey as a chess player. "My parents are both sports lovers but could not pursue their dreams. So, they decided that they would do their best to help me chase my dream in whichever field I chose. We do not come from a very well-off family so they had to make a lot of sacrifices to help me in his journey," said Gukesh during the post-match press conference.
Gukesh's father Dr Rajnikanth is an ENT surgeon while his mother Dr. Padma is a microbiologist. They had to put their careers on hold to accompany Gukesh as he played in tournaments in India and abroad. Arranging for trainers was another big expense that his parents had to bear as they got him enrolled with Grandmaster Vishnu Prassana and then got foreign coaches for big tournaments.
Gukesh thanked his parents for all the sacrifices and said the first word his father said to him after he came out of the soundproof glass chamber where they were playing the games was "congratulations". "I just exchanged a few words with my father. My mother is not here but she will be flying in tomorrow. They have made a lot of sacrifices and I would like to thank them," said Gukesh. IANS
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