World Under 10 Champion Girish Kaushik felicitated!

Reigning World Under 10 Champion Girish Kaushik was felicitated at the Mir Sultan Khan Academy, Sanvordem in the presence of numerous chess fans and young players amidst great fanfare. The exceptionally talented Girish, who has also won the Asian Under 8 and National Under 9 Championship, was presented a Laptop, Software, and a Cash award of Rs. 10,000/- by AICF Vice President and GSCA President Sameer Salgaocar on this occasion.

Also felicitated at the Academy was Commonwealth Under 18 Champion and Asian Under 14 Champion Bhakti Kulkarni. She was honoured as Goa's first Titled Player. The young Woman FIDE Master was felicitated and presented a cheque of Rs. 15,000/- by reputed Chartered Accountant Bhagwathi Bhat.

Finally, the Coach and father of Girish - Arun Kaushik was honoured
with a Shawl and Momento by reputed businessman Raman Saripalli. The elated Arun Kaushik mentioned that a 'great future' awaited the Goan chess fraternity as there was a 'huge upsurge of talented Goan chess players who were making their presence felt across the national scene'.

The felicitation ceremony was preceded by a Simultaneous Display wherein Girish Kaushik and emerging star Niraj Saripalli took on the young members of the Academy. This was a great treat for the kids and the parents alike though the final score was 24-0 as the duo proved much too strong for the students.

Sanjay Kavlekar, SAG coach, gave the Vote of thanks and everyone went home thoroughly satisfied!