Shubman Gill delivered a special message on Team India’s behalf to D Gukesh, who recently became the youngest-ever world champion. Gukesh stunned China’s Ding Liren on Thursday to become the youngest champion, surpassing the previous record held by Garry Kasparov.
Speaking to the press ahead of the Gabba test, Gill said, “Just want to say congratulations from the entire Indian cricket team, to become the youngest world champion is a great feat in itself.”
Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) official handle had also congratulated Gukesh, saying, “Congratulations to Gukesh Dommaraju on becoming the Youngest World Chess Champion. He defeated Ding Liren at the 2024 World Chess Championship to emerge as the youngest world champion in history.”
Gukesh secured the title with a stunning win in the final game, capitalizing on Ding’s mistake to claim the crown at 7.5 points, in what commentators called a major upset. The players entered the decisive 14th game tied at 6.5 points each. Playing with the black pieces, Gukesh maintained relentless pressure, capitalising on a mistake by Ding on the 53rd move
Paddy Upton on D Gukesh victory
D Gukesh’s success can also be credited to Paddy Upton who was the mental conditioning coach of the Indian cricket team during the 2011 World Cup win.
Speaking to Indian Express, Paddy Upton said, “Other aspects of his strategy we’ve discussed is how to manage himself when he’s ahead in the game; how to manage himself when he might be behind in the game or under pressure within a game.”
He further added, “We’ve discussed how he would manage himself if he’s ahead in the tournament, like one game up; if he’s behind, if he’s got a 6-6 position. So not only just within a game, but within the championship as a whole, it’s very clear strategies of how to manage himself when behind, when level, and when ahead,”
