India’s best bet for a medal, N. Priyanka was expelled from the World junior girls chess championship in Sardinia, Italy, after she was found in possession of a pair of earbuds, inadvertently left behind in the jacket pocket, during a routine check after her sixth round game.
As per the statement of FIDE, “While there is no indication of foul play on her part, earbuds are strictly forbidden at the playing hall. Carrying these devices during a game is a violation of fair play policies and it is penalised with the loss of the game and expulsion from the tournament.
The point scored by Priyanka (by winning the sixth round) was awarded to her rival, Govhar Beydullayeva. The appeal made by the Indian delegation was turned down by the Appeals Committee.
Priyanka explained the circumstances that led to her expulsion:
“I went for a walk in the morning and took my earbuds and left them in the jacket. I subconsciously took the same jacket to the tournament hall completely forgetting the fact that I put earbuds in them. I only realised when the random check happened. I would want to mention a few things here,” she said.
- I was totally following the security protocols including the security check by carrying the same jacket but somehow no alarm was raised and no metal was detected.
- Since I was playing on board 2, my board was completely under video surveillance all the time.
- Transmission of the game is delayed by 15 mins.
“The whole time I didn’t realise that the jacket I was carrying had earbuds in it. I only realised this during the random security check post the game.”
“This was an unfortunate and unintentional mistake on my side but I abide by the fact that carrying electronic devices like earbuds and watches is not allowed inside the hall.”
“I am glad and obliged that FIDE has mentioned in the report that ‘no indication of foul play’ was found.”
“As per the rules I won’t be allowed to play in this tournament and I respect this decision. However, I sincerely want to apologise to my family, my coach, my federation, my friends and my supporters for this honest mistake from my side.”
“There’s no denial that I am upset however I don’t want this one incident to define me. I assure you that I will work hard and come back stronger.”
Though the Indian coaches, Grandmaster Swayams Mishra and J. E. Kavitha, have accepted the decision of the Appeals Committee and the expulsion of Priyanka, one question that remains to be answered is, why was the player not frisked properly when she entered the playing hall?
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