A 35-member Indian contingent emerged overall champions with a rich haul of 26 medals in the Asian Youth Chess Championship, which was held at Tashkent in Uzbekistan from March 31 to April 9, 2017. The medals included 11 gold, eight silver and seven bronze.
The championship featured competition in three formats (Rapid, Standard and Blitz), involving six age groups (U-8 Open and Girls, U-10 O&G, U-12 O&G, U-14 O&G, U-16 O&G, U-18 O&G). But none of the three Odisha players _ Priansh Das, Sriansh Dash and Anwesha Mishra _ could win a medal in any format of the championship.
The overall champions’ trophy medal was received by the head of Indian contingent, Manikanda Swamy of Tamil Nadu and coach Aparajita Gochhikar of Odisha. This was the first coaching assignment for Aparajita, who is a national trainer.