Praggnanandhaa, Soumya, Vantika test positive for COVID-19

R. Praggnanandhaa, Soumya Swaminathan and Vantika Agarwal tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, hours before the launch of the Chess Olympiad Torch Relay.

FILE PHOTO: R. Praggnanandhaa (in picture) is a member of the Indian team chosen to participate in the World Chess Olympiad.

R. Praggnanandhaa, Soumya Swaminathan and Vantika Agarwal tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, hours before the launch of the Chess Olympiad Torch Relay here.

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Many members of the Indian Olympiad teams reached the Capital, on Saturday, in all excitement to be part of the mega event where the Prime Minister was to hand over the first-ever Olympiad Torch to Viswanathan Anand. Soon after their arrival from Chennai, the players and officials were tested for Covid.

The test reports were made available on Sunday afternoon and the three players stayed in isolation, in their hotel rooms, while the rest of the contingent headed to the Indira Gandhi Stadium.

With the Chess Olympiad still 40 days away, the teams' coaches were confident of the players' availablity for the event beginning on July 28 at Mahabalipuram.