Serene, spiritual and calm, how Gukesh Dommaraju presents himself to every sports lover

World champion Gukesh Dommaraju continues to grab headlines, create more intrigue about his boy-turned-man’s personality. Such are the emotions he has churned, everyone speaks on Gukesh and chess today. Even those who do not know the intricacies of the 64 squares are now piqued. What people have really dug into are his persona, his character, and how he will be looked at as a role model. India has not produced too many world champions at 18, and this one from Gukesh is gold standard.

Sample this, there has been an engagement even over which state in India Gukesh belongs to. Obviously, when any Indian athlete competes, even in a professional tournament, it is for India. He or she may be earning prize money and paying taxes abroad, like in tennis or golf,  but the athlete always represents the country. Once Gukesh won the FIDE World Championship and his father Dr Rajnikanth spoke to media and friends, more stories emerged. Stories of hardships, parental support, mentorship, every facet. Gukesh is blessed he has parents, both doctors, who allowed him to pursue his passion. He had to make a choice between becoming the best in his sport and pursuing academic goals. This is where the chess academy of King V.Anand has played a big role where kids kids from an early age can begin.

It is also important the environment and the city which the athlete lives in supports sports. Chennai,  erstwhile Madras, has supported sports big time all along. Tennis, cricket, squash, chess, the list is long. Even hockey and athletics. So, when Tami; Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced a prize money of Rs 5 crores, it was a great gesture. Gukesh’s parents never let him feel there was a funds crunch even when it esixted. Chess is not a sport which draws too many sponsors, though the narrative is changing. Gukesh will attract sponsors, brand will want to grab him, and his net value will zoom up.

The big challenge, how he remains focused. Just 18, he has a lifetime ahead and so much more to achieve. It is clear he is a spiritual boy, folded hands, prays, sports a tilak on his forehead. All this helps for sure. You can have mind trainers and sports psychologist, but that inner belief and drawing power from divine forces is vital. People have asked why he wears “Vibhuti” on his forehead. It is exactly at the spot between the two eyebrows, which, people say has the capacity to produce positive energy. You can find it also at the same spot on the forehead even if you look at images of R.Praggnanadhaa and his sister Vaishali.

A recent video of Gukesh is doing the rounds, how he went to Tirupati to pray before going to Singapore for the World Championship. Gukesh speaks in Telugu and explains how he believes in divine forces as well. Anything positive which can help an athlete is permissible. But then, Gukesh has also created a mild stir as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu has said Gukesh is Telugu! It came as a pleasant surprise, though, fact is, Gukesh was born in Chennai and has lived there all along. The champion is Indian. Period. Nothing else matters.

It was also pretty insensitive for a newspaper in Singapore to come up with a distasteful headline of “Sambhar” defeating ‘Chowmein” since Ding Liren is Chinese. Where was the need for this, in the first place? Do they even know if Gukesh loves Indian food or Chinese or Continental stuff! All this is laughable, though Gukesh explained very well he stays away from social media. He explained how his team, a massive one, also deals with his social media handles. They only tell him what is relevant and he does not bother about it. This is the best thing, because excess PR and social media overdrive can be dangerous. Gukesh has been mentored well in every sense, so distractions seem minimum.

How Gukesh does in the future will be tracked very closely. Chess is a sport where access to moves made, strategy and much more is available for all. He has a massive team of coaches, ‘second’ and all those who can keep pushing him to greater levels of consistency. One World Championship title is not enough. Like a Neeeraj Chopra with the javelin who has won two Olympic medals, Gukesh has to go for more. There is every reason to believe, he will remain the same humble young man with a killer instinct.