India claimed double gold at Chess Olympiad 2024© X (Twitter)
“We had planned this. We planned that when we win the medal, we will do this dance, this celebration, we will make some reels and go for dinner. Before the tournament, we were the first seeds and it was kind of expected that we will win a medal. There was high pressure as we were playing on the top board but after the match against Poland, we had a two point lead. After the loss against Poland, we had to play USA and after Vaishali (Rameshbabu) lost, all the pressure was on me. I knew that I had to win and I was certain that I had to play the best chess of my life for my team and my country.”
“There was a lot of pressure from the start to the end. But I was not thinking about anything and I just knew that I was playing for India. There were a lot of people watching and I had no choice but to play well. I knew that everything will work out if I give my best,” Vantika explained.
Vantika also said that her inspiration is the legendary chess player Viswanathan Anand and also added that she is a fan of multiple-time world champion Magnus Carlsen.
“My inspiration is Viswanathan Anand who is a five-time world champion. He keeps motivating us and he will even be there for us in Hungary. I am also a fan of Magnus Carlsen,” she concluded.
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