Pentala Harikrishna became a Grandmaster at the age of 14 in 2000 and even played his first Olympiad. But he could finally capture a gold medal in his 11th attempt. Now 38, Harikrishna was part of the Indian team that made history at Budapest.

This Guntur-born boy credited the young team of Gukesh, Arjun Erigiasi, Vidit Gujrathi and V Praggnanandhaa for the dream run at the Olympiad. “It is a fulfilment of my dream since 2000 when I first played as a 14-year-old kid. We had an amazing team and the strongest ever in the history of Indian chess,’’ said Harikrishna from Prague, where he now resides.